Migrants Rescued Off Greece Before Boat Hit Cliffs
The Italian coast guard released video on Tuesday, February 9, detailing its rescue of dozens of refugees and migrants from a boat near the Greek island of Samos. It says 68 people, believed to be Syrian, were on board the small vessel, which was about to be stranded at the base of a cliff. A small baby is the first to be taken aboard the rescue boat, with coast guard personnel clearly heard asking for the baby’s mother to come aboard next.
The coast guard says some of those on board managed to get to safety on the cliff before they were rescued.
A Google translation of the coast guard text beneath the video reads:
“The rescue took place a few miles away from the island of Samos, where the crew of the patrol boat CP 322 of the Italian Coast Guard has rescued 68 people from the self-styled Syrian origin, including 20 children and 20 women. In particular, some of the migrants, 39 people, was on board a boat about to be stranded on a cliff; while the remaining 29 migrants, in an attempt to find shelter, had already taken refuge on a cliff overlooking the sea. The operation was extremely complex due to the poor visibility, the presence of rocky outcrops and the difficulties of reaching the castaways, seen before saving the migrants aboard the boat and immediately after the rescue of persons on the cliff, thanks to the intervention of naval rescue (Rescue Swimmer) of the Italian Coast Guard, perches from the rock, they managed to rescue all the people.” Credit: YouTube/Italian Coast Guard
