Greece rescued 42 migrants off the island of Crete and was seeking for three who went missing after their boat transmitted a distress signal while at sea, the Greek coast guard said on Thursday.
A coast guard spokesman stated that the migrants were rescued by commercial vessels and a Greek navy helicopter approximately 27 nautical miles southwest of Crete.
It was unclear what happened to their boat, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, adding that a search and rescue mission for the missing was ongoing.
In recent months, the island of Crete and its small neighbor Gavdos, Europe’s southernmost point, have seen an upsurge in the number of migrants trying to enter Europe from Libya.
The Greek government has promised funds and personnel to assist the understaffed islands in dealing with the crisis.
Since 2015, when almost 1 million people landed on its islands, producing an unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe, Greece has been a popular transit point for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia seeking to enter the European Union. Thousands of people have died at sea.
Until recently, migrants chose islands further east near Turkey to Crete and Gavdos.
