Greece launches mission to rescue migrants on stranded yacht

Greek authorities launched an operation on Friday to assist over 100 migrants believed to be on board a stranded yacht off the southern coast of Greece.  

The yacht was located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, state broadcaster EPT reported.

It also cited the Greek coastguard as saying that three patrol boats, as well as four civilian vessels, had reached the shipwreck to provide help.

A navy helicopter was also involved in the rescue efforts.

Migrants on the boat had earlier sent a distress signal.

The AP news agency reported that a second search operation was underway off the island of Rhodes to find potentially missing passengers after 22 migrants were rescued from a stranded sailboat.

Embarking on perilous journeys to reach Europe

Greece is seeing a spike in arrivals by sea of people fleeing conflict and economic hardship in the Middle East and Africa.

In the past four days, the Greek coastguard had picked up some 150 migrants in the Aegean Sea.

People smugglers routinely cram migrants into boats that are barely seaworthy before sending them out on perilous sea journeys to reach Europe.

In June, hundreds of migrants attempting to cross from Libya to Italy drowned when an overcrowded fishing boat sank off the Greek coast.

Of the about 750 people onboard, only 104 survived.

It's one of the worst Mediterranean migrant disasters in years. 

Greek authorities were sharply criticized by migrant rights groups for failing to intervene in time.

sri/rc (AP, dpa)