A search and rescue operation was underway Monday after a boat carrying migrants sank overnight off the small island of Symi in eastern Greece, leaving at least three dead, the coast guard said.
Eight people were rescued, two of whom were taken to a hospital on the nearby island of Rhodes and the rest were taken to the main port of Symi, according to the coast guard.
Authorities said they recovered the bodies of two men and a woman from the sea. Survivors said two other people in the dinghy were believed to have made it to shore on their own.
THE PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE COMMITS TO CONTINUE MILITARY SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE FOR AS LONG AS NECESSARY
Eight people were rescued after a migrant boat sank off Symi. Three other people were found dead at sea. (Fox News)
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Two coast guard boats, four private boats and an air force helicopter were searching the area for the two missing men. The nationalities of those on the boat were not immediately known.
Greece lies along one of the most popular smuggling routes for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and trying to enter the European Union.
Many use small boats to head from Turkey to Greek islands near the Turkish coast, while others use larger sailing vessels, yachts or fishing vessels to make the longer passage from either Turkey or northern Africa to Italy, bypassing Greece.
