Patra port security an uphill battle as migrants eye ferries to Italy

The situation in Patra, where hundreds of migrants and refugees are awaiting the opportunity to sneak onto a ferry to Italy, is “barely manageable,” a coast guard officer in the western port city has told Kathimerini.

“Safeguarding the port’s security is a battle,” he said, voicing concerns that the number of potential stowaways squatting in abandoned buildings around the port is growing.

“For the umpteenth time, we are asking for immediate and drastic solutions before it is too late,” the Hellenic Coast Guard workers’ union said after an officer was injured while trying to prevent a group of migrants from forcing their way aboard a ferry.

Meanwhile, human rights activists have called for a probe into injuries sustained by  at least two of the dozens of migrants who attempt to scale the port facility’s fence every week.

Police and coast guard authorities have already increased patrols along the streets surrounding the facility and urge motorists to slow down on Akti Dymaion Street, across which most migrants usually make the dash ahead of scaling the fence on that side of the port.