The governor of Greece's northern Aegean region says authorities have managed to register 20,000 refugees and migrants who had been on the island of Lesbos in the space of three days, significantly easing the overcrowding on the island.
Regional governor Christiana Kalogirou told private Skai television Friday that the number of refugees and migrants on the island had reached about 30,000. Greece's caretaker government, appointed about two weeks ago to lead the country to Sept. 20 early elections, sent extra staff to speed up registration and chartered two extra ferries to help move people to the mainland.
More than 250,000 people have reached Greece so far this year, the vast majority arriving on islands from the nearby Turkish coast. About half of all those who arrive do so on Lesbos. Few, if any, want to remain in financially stricken Greece.
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