Cyprus rescues 60 Syrian migrants stuck on a boat for 6 days. Several are hospitalized
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials say at least seven people have been hospitalized after Cypriot police rescued 60 Syrian migrants found aboard a rickety wooden boat some 34 miles off the island nation’s southeastern tip. They have been at sea for six days. Helicopters flew the three children and four adults to a hospital after a passing merchant ship notified Cypriot authorities of the boat’s presence early Wednesday. Although overall migrant arrivals to Cyprus have significantly gone down, arrivals by sea almost quadrupled from 937 in 2022 to 3,889 in 2023, with almost all migrants being Syrian, according to official interior ministry numbers.