A massive search operation by port authorities and navy officials was launched in Greece following a shipwreck east of the island of Karpathos on Wednesday (Greece time).
The coast guard said 29 migrant men men were rescued 33 nautical miles (38 miles, 61 kilometers) off Karpathos, between Rhodes and Crete.
Two of those rescued were plucked from the sea by an air force helicopter and flown to Karpathos while the other 27 were picked up by a passing tanker ship and were being taken to the island of Kos.
The survivors were from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, who reported that the number of passengers from Antalya to Italy was between 60 to 80 people before the strong wind and waves capsised the boat.
Greece sent an air force helicopter, two navy ships, a coast guard vessel and three merchant ships to the rescue of the asylum seekers, however, the rough weather conditions are slowing the operation down, according to Kathimerini.
The search is continuing with unreduced intensity,” said Shipping and Island Policy Minister Giannis Plakiotakis, under whose jurisdiction the coast guard lies.
“The protection of human life is our daily concern and absolute priority,” he said, adding that more than 6,000 people had been rescued in 145 search and rescue operations over the past two years.