270 Syrian refugees rescued off North Cypriot coast

The authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) rescued 270 Syrian migrants in the Mediterranean off the northern coast of the island, an official announced on Sunday.

Al-Quds newspaper reported that police said the migrants had been travelling on-board a Tanzanian ship and were rescued after several difficult hours because of the bad weather.

According to the police, 13 of the rescued migrants were admitted to a hospital, but the police reiterated they are not in a serious condition.

Al-Quds also reported the police saying that the traffickers aired the call for help at 300 metres off the north western coast of Northern Cyprus, but that they left on-board another boat before the arrival of the TNRC rescue teams, leaving the migrants on their own.

The TRNC authorities think that the migrants likely sailed from the city of Mersin, which is located in the south of Turkey. It was expected that they would be returned there.

Turkey hosts around 1.7 million Syrian refugees who have fled their country because of the internal war. The High Refugee Commission revealed that during 2014, more than 2,500 migrants have already drowned as they were trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Last September, around 500 migrants sank in the sea off the Maltese coast, in what was the worst sinking incident in recent years.