Romania seizes new migrant boat in Black Sea

MIDIA: Romanian authorities said Wednesday they had rescued more than 150 migrants in the Black Sea, the fifth such incident since August amid rising fears that a new migrant route to Europe is opening up, reports AFP.

Authorities said 153 people including 53 children and 51 women, many from Iraq, had been on board the vessel when conditions turned choppy off Romania's eastern coast in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

"The sea had been very agitated, with waves of up three metres (9.8 feet). These people were in a very dangerous situation and risked either drowning or seeing their boat sink," Cristian Cicu, a spokesman for the Constanta coastguard, told AFP.

AFP journalists in the Romanian port of Midia witnessed the arrival of the migrants who were then sent for medical examinations before being handed over to the immigration authorities.

 

Romania seizes new migrant boat in Black Sea

MIDIA: Romanian authorities said Wednesday they had rescued more than 150 migrants in the Black Sea, the fifth such incident since August amid rising fears that a new migrant route to Europe is opening up, reports AFP. Authorities said 153 people including 53 children and 51 women, many from Iraq, had been on board the vessel when conditions turned choppy off Romanias eastern coast in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The sea had been very agitated, with waves of up three metres (9.8 feet). These people were in a very dangerous situation and risked either drowning or seeing their boat sink, Cristian Cicu, a spokesman for the Constanta coastguard, told AFP. AFP journalists in the Romanian port of Midia witnessed the arrival of the migrants who were then sent for medical examinations before being handed over to the immigration authorities.