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80 migrants were saved after their boat capsized and sank in international waters off the southwest coast of the Peloponnese, according to the Greek coastguard on Wednesday.
Strong gusts were making it difficult for the operation, which also involved six other boats, an army plane, and a frigate from the Greek navy.
A large-scale rescue effort has been going on off Pylos since very early Wednesday since a fishing boat with several migrants on board capsized, according to a statement from the coast guard.
“So far, 80 migrants have been picked up in the water and will be transferred to the port of Kalamata,” a spokesman subsequently confirmed.
The boat was discovered Tuesday afternoon, according to the coast guard, by a surveillance plane of the Frontex agency of Europe, but the passengers “refused any help.”
Tens of thousands of migrants travel from Africa and the Middle East to Europe every year, with Greece, Italy, and Spain serving as their main stops.
The migrants looked to have left Libya and were travelling towards Italy, according to the authorities.
Also on Wednesday, Greece’s port police reported that a sailboat off the coast of Crete carrying 80 migrants in difficulty was rescued and pulled to port by a coastguard patrol.
Turkey is making more attempts to enter Greece via southern routes around the Cyclades islands and in the direction of the Peloponnese peninsula in an effort to evade patrols in the northern Aegean Sea.
Rescue operations are regular, but this month the Greek government came under pressure from abroad over video footage that allegedly showed migrants being forcibly expelled after being left at sea.
Greece and other EU members on the southern and southeastern edges of the union claim that they are unfairly saddled with managing migrant arrivals who are not in possession of legal status.
