Cyprus rescues 60 Syrian migrants lost at sea for 6 days. Several have been hospitalized

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials say at least four people have been hospitalized after Cypriot police rescued 60 Syrian migrants found aboard a rickety wooden boat off the island nation’s souteastern tip. They have been at sea for six days. Helicopters flew the three children and one adult 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.