Greek police on Sunday detained 67 Egyptians who had fled Libya to Italy on a fishing boat that was found close to sinking off the Greek island of Crete, the police said.
The detainees include five people who were sailing the boat. They will face charges of human smuggling, police authorities said.
The detainees range between 15 and 30 years old. They were rescued Sunday night near the Gialiskari beach in southwest Crete, as water began leaking into the boat.
They told seaport police that they had been working in Libya.
Thousands of Egyptians have fled Libya since the armed revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi broke out in February. Many of these Egyptians have tried to seek refuge at Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea.
On 9 August, the International Organization for Migration said 650,000 refugees had fled Libya in 45 days, including 205,000 who had gone to Egypt.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
