Greece detains 1,200 migrants in three days as arrivals from Libya surge

GAVDOS, Greece (AP) — Authorities in Greece say more than 1,200 migrants have been detained on the island of Crete and the nearby islet of Gavdos over the past three days, following a surge in arrivals from Libya.

The coast guard said multiple boats were intercepted off Crete’s southern coast from Saturday through Monday, prompting regional officials to request additional government assistance.

The uptick in arrivals coincided with a visit by Greece’s foreign minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, to Libya for talks with both the internationally recognized government and a rival administration, amid efforts to address the growing migration crisis and a maritime boundary dispute.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said patrols by the coast guard and navy in the region are likely to be intensified. He added that approximately 8,000 migrants have reached Crete since the start of the year.

“It’s a complex and extremely serious issue. Crete and its residents are under significant strain,” Marinakis said. “We hope that all the diplomatic efforts will bear fruit. Otherwise, we will be forced to adopt stricter and far more large-scale measures to ensure the country is protected.”

Migrants typically make the 350-kilometer (220-mile) journey to Crete in unseaworthy boats — often hastily constructed to survive a single voyage or in abandoned vessels modified in scrapyards.

Gavdos, a tiny island south of Crete, has been overwhelmed by arrivals. Boats and dinghies remain washed up on its pebble beaches, many of them accessible only on foot.

On one remote beach, David, a migrant from war-torn South Sudan, sat with five others as they rested to decide what to do next.

Speaking to The Associated Press, he said smugglers beat several people ahead of the sea journey and demanded more money than originally agreed.

“After you pay the money, everything is by force. If you talk, they hit you,” he said. “The boat was very dangerous — too many people.”

David, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he hoped to stay anywhere in Europe.

“We didn’t come to cause a problem. We came to save our lives,” he said. “If you stay, you die.”

A woman prays as migrants from Africa rest in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

Migrants from Africa wash their clothes as they take shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A woman prays as migrants from Africa rest in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A woman prays as migrants from Africa rest in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A Greek coast guard gives water to migrants from Africa as they take a shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A Greek coast guard gives water to migrants from Africa as they take a shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

A child looks on as other migrants take shelter in Agia port, Chania, Crete island, Greece, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis)

Clothes belonging to migrants and refugees who crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Greece hang on an iron fence to dry at Karave port on the island of Gavdos, Greece, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Elena Becatoros)

Boats used by migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea are seen at Tripiti beach, Gavdos island , Greece, the southernmost point of Europe, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Elena Becatoros)

A boat used by migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea is towed from Tripiti beach to the Karave the port of Gavdos, Greece, on Monday, July 7, 2025 after hundreds were rescued near the island and the island of Crete in separate incidents. (AP Photo/Elena Becatoros)

David, a migrant from South Sudan, sits at Tripiti beach with five others from a group of 68 migrants and refugees who arrived on the island of Gavdos, Greece, on Monday, July 7, 2025, as hundreds were rescued in recent days near the island and off Crete in separate incidents. (AP Photo/Elena Becatoros)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)