Sixty Syrian migrants including children rescued near Cyprus

Cypriot authorities on Wednesday rescued 60 "distressed and dehydrated" Syrians, including children, from a boat drifting for a week in the Mediterranean, amid a sharp rise in migrant arrivals.

A major operation involving the maritime police and national guard was launched after the boat was spotted drifting 30 nautical miles off Cyprus' southeastern coast, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) said in a statement.

A maritime police vessel provided first aid, while another boat and two helicopters were mobilised to transport the critical patients and injured to hospital, the JRCC said.

"The migrants were found distressed and dehydrated," it said, adding that three children and one adult had fainted and three others had lower limb fractures.

Children taken to hospital are in "serious condition".

The migrants left Lebanon on January 18.

Local media quoting unnamed sources said the small wooden boat was unable to reach Cyprus due to recent stormy weather.

In a statement on Wednesday, Cyprus' Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the arrival "proves what we have repeatedly emphasised about the danger faced by human lives in unsuitable boats, usually victims of trafficking networks".

Ioannou said Cyprus recommends "the establishment of a Europol unit, collaboration with Lebanese authorities, and involvement of the Cyprus Police Immigration Service to monitor borders in Lebanon".

Last year, Cyprus said it had seen a four-fold spike in irregular arrivals by boat, almost all of them Syrians.

According to official data, the total number of irregular arrivals for 2023 was nearly 10,500 people, while more than 11,000 voluntarily left or were forcibly deported.

In 2022, more than 21,500 people submitted asylum applications in Cyprus, compared to more than 10,500 in the first 11 months of 2023.

Nicosia argues that it has the highest number of new asylum seeker applicants in the European Union per capita, though the number has reduced from 6 percent of the population in 2022 to 5.3 percent in 2023.