Greece returns 14 migrants to Turkey under EU deal

Greek authorities have returned to neighboring Turkey 14 migrants over the past two days.

Migrants who are fleeing Libya, crowded onto a dinghy before being helped by members of a Spanish NGO, during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean sea, about 25 miles north of Sabratha, Libya. (AP)

ATHENS, Greece: Greek authorities have returned to neighboring Turkey 14 migrants over the past two days, bringing to nearly 500 the total of people sent back under this year's deal between the European Union and Turkey.

The public order ministry says four Pakistani and two Algerian nationals who had entered Greece illegally were taken back by boat from the eastern island of Lesbos Thursday. Another eight Syrians were returned Wednesday on a chartered plane, again from Lesbos.

More than a million refugees and other migrants have reached Greece in smugglers' boats from Turkey since the beginning of 2015, on their way to Europe's prosperous heartland.

Since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on March 20, the flow has slowed down to just over 10,000 people — 482 of whom have been returned.