Aegean ferry revolt as migrants seek doctor
A group of African and Asian illegal immigrants rose up against their guards yesterday morning aboard an Aegean ferry carrying them to a northern port for deportation, necessitating the intervention of the coast guard. According to the Athens News Agency, the trouble started when two of the 23 handcuffed Sierra Leonese and Sri Lankan immigrants, who had boarded the Alkaios ferry on Kos, fell ill just after the ship had left the port of Myrina on Lemnos, en route to Alexandroupolis with 82 passengers on board. The immigrants, who were being held in the ship’s lounge, asked for a doctor, and, when told that there was none available, started shouting and breaking things. The four police escorts failed to bring the situation under control, and the ship’s captain contacted the Merchant Marine Ministry’s operations center. Two coast-guard patrol boats with 10 officers were quickly sent from Lemnos and Samothrace, along with a doctor, whereupon the uprising ended. There is no cause for public alarm. We have a description of the suspect and the vehicle registration number, Stelikos told a press conference.
