Freighter crashes into Kea port with 190 migrants, city calls on gov't to transfer them immediately

Three women who were in advanced stages of pregnancy were transported by helicopter to Alexandra hospital, while three Syrian men (aged 26, 32 and 38) were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

The migrants and refugees (123 men, 29 women and 38 children) have been temporarily hosted in isolation in an old hotel for two weeks, as part of coronavirus prevention measures, before their fate is decided.

The freighter had left Canakkale in Turkey and headed to Italy before strong winds reaching 8 on the Beaufort scale forced it to stop at Kea, where it ran into a section of the port.

Shipping & Island Policy Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis ordered a tugboat to check its state and for leaks, and to help port authorities detach it.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Kea called on the government and related ministries to remove the migrants and refugees from the island immediately, saying the group consisted mostly of young people aged 18-35, and said "as an island, we are defenseless and entirely unable to deal with this event." The lack of infrastructure, equipment and staff, and the suspension of hosting facilities due to the coronavirus make it "impossible for Kea to host these people."