ATHENS - Greek police arrested 104 Egyptians seeking to illegally enter Greece after their fishing boat ran aground off the coast of Crete, the merchant marine ministry said Saturday.
The Egyptians, among them the boat's eleven crew members, are all males aged 17-40, the ministry said. Five of them were treated for exhaustion at a hospital in Hania, on the island's north-western coast after the vessel ran aground Friday.
The 20-metre boat used by the smugglers, the Egyptian-flagged Mustapha Ali, later sank Friday near Palaiohora, on the south-western coast of the island. It had sailed from Egypt to Greece on March 28, the ministry said.
On Friday, the ministry had initially announced the Mustapha Ali's human cargo as 80 illegal immigrants who claimed to be Palestinians trying to reach Italy.
The island of Crete is a favored crossing-point for immigrants sailing from the coasts of Turkey, Africa or the Middle East towards Western Europe.
04/02/2005 10:15 GMT