Athens: The sailboat they were on sent out a distress signal while off the coast of the island of Leros, according to the Greek coast guard, and 68 people have been saved in the eastern Aegean Sea.
The migrants aboard the sailboat, which is thought to have left Turkey carrying them in hopes of reaching Greece, reportedly made a distress call early on Monday. A passing merchant ship initially picked up the passengers before transferring them to a coast guard vessel, the coast guard said.
There were no injuries or reported missing persons; everyone was brought to Leros safely. It was not immediately known what countries were on board.
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The sailboat rescue occurs just days after a massively crammed fishing trawler carrying people from Libya to Italy capsized off the coast of western Greece last week, with hundreds of migrants believed to have perished in the water.
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The trawler capsized and sank last Wednesday in international waters west of Greece, with an estimated 700–750 people on board.
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104 people have been saved so far, and 78 bodies have been found. The area is still under search and rescue efforts, but the likelihood of discovering any additional survivors is extremely low.