Migrants rescued off Polis, 27 on board fishing trawler (Update 2)

The police’s marine fleet on Thursday evening mounted a rescue operation for 27 people aboard a fishing trawler adrift in seas off the Akamas peninsula.

Two vessels were dispatched to rendezvous with the boat that appeared to be in distress.

According to statement released by the defence ministry, at around 7.15pm the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, based in Larnaca, received an urgent call concerning the boat, which was detected at around 14 nautical miles off the Akamas.

The trawler had broadcast a distress signal, the state broadcaster said.

Authorities subsequently determined the boat was drifting, and immediately switched from a monitoring operation to a rescue operation.

The 27 people, including six women and three children, were brought ashore to the fishing reserve in Latsi, where personnel from the governmental medical services and Civil Defence were awaiting to provide assistance.

Unconfirmed reports said the people on board the boat are Syrian nationals. They were brought safely ashore around 11pm.

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