About 2,000 migrants from Syria disembark in Athens port
Jun 14, 2015, 6:48 AM
Migrants, who have reached the Greek eastern Aegean islands after crossing the Greek-Turkish sea borderline, wait outside a passenger ship following their disembarkation at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, on Sunday, June 14, 2015. An emergency European Union plan to help Italy and Greece manage thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean could be vastly watered down next week, diplomats said Friday. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
(AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — About 2,000 migrants, who had been stranded for days in the Greek island of Lesbos, have arrived in the port of Piraeus, southwest of the capital Athens.
The migrants, who crossed over to Lesbos from Turkey, were brought into Piraeus Sunday by two Greek ferries.
Most headed for the center of Athens by train, although few have friends or relatives there who could take them in.
Many told Greek TV stations that they would like to travel on to Germany, or other European Union countries.
Greece is a close second to Italy in migrant arrivals this year.
During the first five months of 2015, 40,297 migrants arrived in Greece, up from 6,500 in the same period in 2014. Almost all of them have crossed in boats from Turkey.
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