Furious tourists were not happy about a migrant boat landing on a beach on a Greek island.
The dramatic moment tourists try to push a migrant-packed boat away from the shore as they descend on a beach has been captured on camera. Footage recorded on Saturday shows a small boat carrying migrants preparing to land at Sarakiniko beach on the island of Gavdos, Greece.
But furious tourists can be seen pushing the boat away with their hands in a bid to stop the Libyan migrants from reaching the shore and disembarking. Beach-goers can be seen in the video turning the vessel back out to sea, with the edited clip showing those on board not resisting their efforts.
Tourists can be seen pushing a migrant boat back into the water (Image: NC)
Local media reports that members of the public told the migrants not to stop at the beach, instead directing them to a port nearby.
Greece has seen a surge in migrants arriving along its southern border in recent weeks. Migration minister, Thanos Plevris, has warned previously of an “invasion” by migrants if Europe doesn’t bring in tough measures as a deterrent.
The island of Gavdos has attracted scores of migrants in recent months as they make the journey from Libya. Gavdos is about 170 nautical miles from the Libyan city of Tobruk.
An increase in arrivals from Libya on Gavdos and nearby Crete this year led the Greek government to temporarily ban processing asylum applications of migrants coming from North Africa.
Migrants who are undocumented entering Europe’s southernmost point from third countries considered safe by the European Union and not entitled to asylum have to return home under the ban.
If they don’t, they face being detained for at least two years and fines of up to £8,665 (10,000 euros).
Traffickers have been sending more people along that route to Greece after Italy signed a controversial agreement with Libya, which allows migrants to be intercepted at sea and pushed back.
Over 7,000 migrants have managed to reach Crete and Gavdos since the beginning of this year. This represents a 40% increase on 2024.
Greece’s temporary ban on asylum application processing is part of a wider crackdown on irregular migrants. Mr Plevris plans to jail people who fail to leave Greece when their request for asylum is rejected.
A fall in arrival rates since Athens announced the suspension led to the Greek government suggesting it could extend the temporary ban.
Human rights groups accused the Greek government of forcefully turning back asylum seekers at land and marine borders.
The EU’s border agency has said it is reviewing a dozen cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
