A cargo ship carrying 193 illegal migrant invaders from Turkey ran aground in rough weather conditions not far from the port of the Cycladic island of Kea (Tzia), near Athens, early Monday morning, according to the Greek coast guard.
The ship began its journey from the Turkish port of Canakkale and is said to have planned to head for Italy when rough weather conditions in the maritime area forced it to run aground on the Greek island, the Greek City Times reports.
According to the Greek coast guard, all illegal migrants were able to disembark from the cargo tanker after it hit the outside of the breakwater at the port amid gale-force winds and rough seas.
Authorities say that three human traffickers were discovered among the illegal migrants and that the illegal migrants were being housed at a local hotel.
The vast majority of migrants – most of whom are fighting-age men – make their way to Greece’s eastern Aegean islands from their nearby Turkish coast by way of inflatable dinghies. Although not unprecedented, cargo ships or tankers are generally not used to smuggle illegal migrants to Greece.