Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Now Greek island of Lesbos suffers migrant influx: Second popular British tourist spot begins to overflow with illegal immigrants with 300 arriving each day

  • An average of 300 migrants are arriving every day at another popular British tourist spot, the Greek island Lesbos
  • It comes after dozens more Sryian migrants floated into Kos after 5km overnight voyage from Turkey last night
  • An estimated 1,500 people have arrived on the shores of Kos in past week and most of them are now sleeping rough
  • Makeshift refugee camp has been established but Greek authorities struggling to cope with number of needy people

By JACK CRONE and SAM TONKIN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:00 GMT, 2 June 2015 | UPDATED: 21:38 GMT, 2 June 2015

Seen desperately clambering for her wheelchair, this woman is one of 300 migrants now arriving every day at the Greek island of Lesbos as another popular British tourist spot begins to overflow with refugees.

Other pictures show illegal immigrants leaping from boats towards dry land, a young boy using a cardboard box as a makeshift shelter and a one-month-old baby snuggled up on the floor.

It comes after dozens of people desperate for a new life were pictured arriving on another Greek island, Kos, under the cover of darkness last night.


Trying to get to dry land: This woman, seen desperately clambering for her wheelchair, is one of 300 migrants now arriving every day at the Greek island of Lesbos as another popular British tourist spot begins to overflow with refugees

Keeping out of the sun: A boy uses a cardboard box as a makeshift shelter after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey


Helped to safety: A woman is carried to the shore (left) while a one-month-old baby is snuggled up on the floor after arriving on Lesbos (right)

Laying back: Refugees and migrants gather at a parking lot waiting to be transported to the capital city on the island of Lesbos in Greece

Migrants and refugees hop off the boat after reaching the shore of the popular British tourist spot of Lesbos. They had travelled from Turkey

Those pictured carrying a woman to dry land are among 30,000 to have arrived in Greece since the turn of the year in search of a better life

Clambering onto the rocks with their lifejackets, dozens of migrants are pictured after jumping off a boat that arrived from Turkey

Floating haphazardly into the shore on inflatable chairs and dinghys, the Syrian migrants who had made the perilous 5km journey from Turkey are among 30,000 to have arrived in Greece since the turn of the year. The country is now calling on help from Europe to deal with the crisis.

The latest arrivals were seen hauling what few possessions they could carry from a dinghy, ill-equipped for such a nighttime voyage or heavy load.

Astonishingly, a few appeared to have made the journey using floating chairs strapped with a piece of rope to hold on to in rough seas.

They are the latest of an estimated 1,500 people to arrive on the small picturesque island in just a week, with many now sleeping in doorways or on the streets as there is nowhere else to go.

Photographs released on Sunday showed men determinedly paddling a dinghy through rough seas to reach the popular holiday destination - while laden with backpacks and heavy clothing. Some were later seen pacing through the streets or sleeping rough.

The Greek coastguard picked up many of those trying to make the sea crossing this morning. Many of those coming off boats are famlies with babies and young children, left dirty and distressed by the voyage.

Making the journey: It is estimated that an average of 300 refugees and migrants land on the coasts of the Greek island of Lesbos every day

Almost there: Migrants are pictured here hopping off boats in Lesbos, hours after photos also emerged of dozens of people arriving in Kos under the cover of darkness

Soaking wet and carrying their shoes, migrants make their way onto the island of Lesbos. They are among an average of 300 arriving every day

An average of 300 refugees and migrants, including those pictured, arrive every day on the coasts of Lesbos. According to the Hellenic coastguard, more than 40,000 migrants and refugees have entered Greece between January and May 2015 and the number is expected to rise

Syrian refugees wait at the harbour after their rescue by the coastguard to be registered as migrants on the island of Lesbos in Greece

In transit: Syrian refugees at the harbour in Lesbos where they are waiting before being transferred to be registered on the Greek island

Desperate: A group of men scurry from floating inflatable chairs and dinghys after arriving on the Greek island of Kos last night

Perilous: The group of men were seen running from their makeshift vessels after completing the 5km voyage from Turkey

A mini-refugee camp has been established on the island, with families sleeping on flattened cardboard boxes in rubbish-strewn streets, as they wait for the Greek authorities to process the necessary paperwork enabling them to travel to mainland Europe.

Meanwhile hotel, cafe and bar owners say they are concerned that the number of refugees and negative reports will turn away visitors - with the tourism industry a vital source of revenue for the island.

The European Union (EU) faces ever-mounting pressure to take action over the migrant crisis, which stems from the Middle East and Africa.

It has asked its members to take in 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea who arrive in Greece and Italy over the next two years, but Britain has said it will not enter such a deal.

Journey: Up to 1,500 migrants are thought to have arrived in Kos in the last week after sailing 5km on makeshift vessels from Turkey

Crowded: A group of men float haphazardly into Kos on an inflatable boat ill-equipped for the number of people inside

Exhausted: A migrant is escorted to an ambulance after being picked up in a dinghy offshore making his way from Turkey to Kos

Sea view: A bikini-clad beach-goer looks out on to the water where three migrant men are paddling towards shore on a dinghy

Floating in: Three men were pictured making their way into the shore shortly after sunrise this morning in Kos, Greece

Crossing the sea: The men, who are said to be from Pakistan, paddled into Kos this morning shortly after sunrise

Paddling into shore: The men chose to wait for first light, completing their journey at dawn on an inflatable dinghy

Meanwhile the head of the European Union's border agency Fabrice Leggeri said its ships are working closer to conflict-torn Libya than ever before - but will only enter the potentially potentially dangerous territorial waters to rescue migrants in trouble.

Around 75,000 migrants have been picked up trying to enter Italy and Greece from Libya so far this year, and more than 1,800 are feared to have died. Most rescue emergencies happen some 40 nautical miles from Libya.

The latest migrant crisis has come at the same time that many British families have flown out to Kos during schools' half term.

Travel and tour operators have attempted to dismiss the crisis, saying people who claim it will affect holidaymakers are 'scaremongering'.

But interest in breaks to Kos appear to have fallen sharply following the report - as according to Trivago, the hotel booking website, searches for accommodation between May 26 and May 31 dipped by 52 per cent compared with the previous week.

By comparison, interest in several other Greek islands rose during the same period – by 66 per cent for Kefalonia, 28 per cent for Mykonos, 14 per cent for Crete, Rhodes and Santorini and 13 per cent for Zakynthos (Zante), The Telegraph reports.

Arrive on the beach: The three men are among 1,500 migrants to have arrived at the popular holiday destination in the last week

Looking for a new life: These migrants, who are thought to be from Pakistan, entered Turkey before crossing the sea to reach Kos

Few possessions: The group make their way across a sandy beach on the island after completing the journey from Turkey

Travel and tour operators have attempted to dismiss the crisis, saying people who claim it will affect holidaymakers are 'scaremongering'

Migrant men arrive in a coastguards vessel at the dock after being picked up by Greek authorities floating off the coast of Kos

Hardened: Families are lined up on the dock after being picked up in a dinghy offshore making their way towards the island

Traumatised: The ordeal of the journey becomes too much for one migrant woman who wells up while sitting on the Greek dock

A mini-refugee camp has been established on the island, with families sleeping on flattened cardboard boxes in rubbish-strewn streets

Greece wants help: The EU faces mounting pressure to take action over the migrant crisis, which stems from the Middle East and Africa

Desperate for new life: A father holds his young child in his arms on the dock of Kos after being picked up by the Greek coastguard

Holiday season: The arrival of around 1,500 migrants to Kos coincides with British half-term, when many holidaymakers will have headed to the island

Happy to be there: Two men smile as their picture is taken following their arrival on the beach of Kos this morning

In need of help: A family from Afghanistan share a meal given to them by an aid agency outside an abandoned hotel where many migrants have been sleeping in Kos

Much-needed rest: Three migrants are pictured sleeping in an abandoned hotel on the island of Kos yesterday

Bereft: Families, including one with a young child, queue for food and water as the sun beams down in Kos yesterday

Read more:
Kos migrant crisis is putting off holidaymakers - Telegraph

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3107225/Increasingly-desperate-migrants-cross-Mediterranean-INFLATABLE-CHAIRS-air-cushions-tucked-clothes-afloat.html#ixzz3c0Z13zxS

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