Cyprus authorities Thursday located a man’s body at sea after a new group of Syrian migrants said a person went overboard as they arrived on the island by boat on the rocky northwestern Paphos coast.
Police said 44 Syrians – including two women and four children – were found wandering in the Peyia area after a boat was spotted departing Cyprus waters pre-dawn Thursday.
The migrants told police that a man on the boat had gone missing before reaching the shore.
A rescue operation was launched, and the body of a man was discovered in the water.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Larnaca confirmed they located “an unconscious man” off the shore of Lara Beach in Paphos.
A police official said the body of a young man had been found after an extensive search using a helicopter, but the body has yet to be formally identified.
The missing migrant was said to be a 24-year-old Syrian.
After being processed, the migrants will be transferred to a reception centre outside the capital Nicosia.
Police believe the Syrians were smuggled from Turkey and dropped off before the boat departed.
Migrants leaving Turkey for the Cyprus coast has become a popular route for people smugglers in recent years and driven a huge rise in asylum seekers.
Nicosia has lobbied Brussels to take action over the “disproportionate” numbers of asylum seekers it receives, claiming Turkey has created a new Mediterranean route to the island.
Cyprus is the first European Union member to permanently host the European Asylum Support Office to help the Mediterranean island cope with a spike in migrants.
According to Eurostat data, Cyprus saw an annual jump of 636% in first-time asylum seekers in February compared to an average increase of 85% in the EU.
In Cyprus, 1805 new asylum applications were registered in February, compared to 245 new applications in February 2021 and 1385 (+30.3%) in January.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Financial Mirror
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Financial Mirror
Source
