ISTANBUL, April 17 — Two Turkish citizens who managed to enter Greece illegally on a motorised paraglider, were arrested after crashing off Evia island, Greek authorities said today.
According to a Ministry of Maritime Affairs statement, the two men, 32 and 33 years old, crashed off the island near Athens after they run out of fuel.
Local authorities were alerted by fishermen who saw the glider falling into the sea.
“They had left Smyrna in Turkey with Athens as destination in order to travel abroad. Because of fuel shortage, the glider fell off the port city of Karystos”, the ministry statement said.
The two men were taken for first aid to the medical center of Karystos.
They were placed in police custody because they did not have appropriate travel documents.
After a failed coup against him, six years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed a sweeping political crackdown and mass arrests.
Since then, there have been numerous cases of Turkish citizens fleeing their country seeking refuge in Greece or political asylum in other European countries. — AFP
