Around 500 refugees, migrants transferred from Symi

A navy ship carrying around 500 refugees and migrants from the southeast Aegean island of Symi docked at the Greek capital’s Piraeus port on Tuesday morning.

The operation to transfer the migrants to the mainland came in response to an appeal from Symi Mayor Eleftherios Papakalodoukas, who said that his island is unequipped to deal with a surge in arrivals from Turkey.

Symi does not have facilities to house migrants and asylum-seekers, which means that dozens of people were having to sleep in tents or in the open air outside the island’s police station and port authority, as well as in public squares and streets.

It was not clear where the refugees and migrants were being transferred after reaching the mainland.