Monday, January 4, 2010

Greek News

WEATHER WOES

Strong winds cause transport disruption at sea, in air

Strong winds over the weekend caused disruptions in passenger ferry routes, as most vessels were forced to remain moored at ports. The winds dropped in most regions yesterday, allowing services to resume but there were problems in some areas. A ferry setting sail from the main port of Rhodes struck a pier early yesterday, though no harm came to any of the 80 passengers on board who took a different vessel later in the day. Another passenger ferry that had been en route from the port of Lavrio to Ai Stratis was forced to divert its route due to strong winds in the northern Aegean. Several scheduled flights to Santorini were also canceled due to the weather.

Four migrants drown at sea

Coast guard officials in the northeastern port of Alexandroupolis on Saturday recovered the bodies of four people, all believed to be illegal immigrants.

The first two bodies, those of a young man and woman, were found washed up on a beach near the port. The other two, both men, were found on a beach in nearby Rhodope.

The four drownings came just a few weeks after 10 Afghan migrants drowned off the coast of Lesvos, in the eastern Aegean, when their dinghy foundered on a rocky outcrop. Lesvos, along with Samos, Chios and Leros, receive almost daily boatloads of would-be migrants due to their proximity to the Turkish coast.

The Citizens’ Protection Ministry has pledged to restructure the coast guard this month to better curb a relentless influx of illegal immigrants seeking to enter the country through its land and sea borders, estimated at some 150,000 every year.

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