Leros

Lesvos to launch fast-track visas for Turks from April 1st

Lesvos will launch fast-track visas for Turkish tourists from April 1st, the mayor of Mytilini Panagiotis Taktikos announced on Thursday. 

The announcement follows an agreement by Athens and Ankara, approved by the EU, to revive a previous scheme the special Schengen Express Visa program for Turkish citizens wishing to visit certain eastern Aegean islands.

Ferry returns to Piraeus over medical emergency

The Dodecanese-bound Blue Star Patmos ferry was forced to return to the port of Piraeus on Tuesday due to a medical emergency concerning a 69-year-old citizen.

The The Blue Star Patmos had embarked from Piraeus and was to make stops at the islands of Patmos, Leipsoi, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Symi, and Rhodes.

No details concerning the patient's health have been made available.

Athens may offer easy Greek island visas for Turks: Local media

Athens is gearing up to implement a one-year visa-on-arrival program for Turkish citizens visiting the Aegean islands, Greek and Turkish local media has reported.

The move comes following collaborative efforts aimed at fostering improved ties between the historically strained neighbors.

One migrant dead, 14 rescued in Farmakonisi 

The Greek Coast Guard said it rescued 14 migrants and recovered one body from Farmakonisi, a small island in the eastern Aegean, on Tuesday morning.

The rescuees, five men, six women and three children, were transferred to the migrant center on Leros and the body to the local hospital. 

The island's port authority is conducting the investigation. 

Owner of Turkey’s low-cost Pegasus Airlines, wife, seriously hurt in boat crash off Leros

Ali Sabanci, the chairman of the company that owns Turkey's low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, was injured in a boat accident while vacationing in Greece, the company said Friday. His wife, businesswoman Vuslat Dogan Sabanci, was also injured.

A statement from Esas Holding did not provide details on their conditions but media reports said the two were seriously hurt.

Coast guard rescues 90 migrants off Amorgos

Ninety migrants have been evacuated by coast guard from a vessel that was spotted at dawn 10 nautical miles southeast of the Cycladic island of Amorgos.

It is understood that a passenger on the sailboat called the 112 emergency number to say the vessel was in difficulty.

Two coast guard and two private vessels made their way to the location, where force 5 winds were blowing.

Migrants rescued from boat found off Kalymnos

Sixty-eight migrants found on Monday on a sailboat northwest of the coast of the small island of Leros, in southeastern Greece, were rescued and transferred to the island, state-run broadcaster ERT reported.

The migrants were picked up by a merchant ship that was sailing nearby and then by the Coast Guard that transferred them to Leros.

Pages