The Greek coast guard said on Tuesday that a rescue operation was underway off the island of Crete, after a boat with up to 500 migrants on board issued a distress signal.
“We can see the ship (…) there are a large number of people on board,” a Coast Guard spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP). However, the operation is hampered by strong winds southwest of Crete.
The same source added that there are between 400 and 500 people on the boat, according to the distress call received by the authorities.
Authorities received the distress call shortly after midnight Tuesday. Two nearby freighters, an oil tanker and two Italian fishing boats are providing assistance.
Due to increased patrols by the Greek coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex in the Aegean Sea, migrants are taking the longest and most dangerous route south to Crete.
“Eighty percent of the flows from Turkey go directly to Italy,” Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi told Skai TV last week.
Source: TSF
