Greece accused of ‘biggest pushback in years’ of stricken refugee ship

Cargo ship, carrying 382 migrants, was towed across the seas for four days before Athens was forced into a rescue after mayday call

It was hailed as the biggest search-and-rescue operation in the eastern Mediterranean for a decade. But the bid to save hundreds of refugees on a stricken ship in the Aegean Sea has led to allegations that the operation bore all the hallmarks of an illegal pushback before the Greek coastguard was forced to change tactics.

Only days after 382 asylum seekers disembarked on the island of Kos, criticism has mounted over their unnecessarily prolonged" ordeal at sea.