The Italian and Greek navies on Thursday rescued hundreds of would-be migrants from choppy waters in the Mediterranean Sea. According to dpa, one boat, with a total of 233 people, was sited late Wednesday as it was struggling in strong winds and rough waters some 80 nautical miles from the Italian island of Lampedusa. Its passengers - most of whom come from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Zambia and Mali - were transferred onto the navy's San Marco ship and were due to arrive in the Sicilian port of Augusta, near Syracuse, later on Thursday. On the same day, the Greek coastguard rescued 85 migrants - among them women and children - off the Greek island of Astypalaia, in the south-eastern Aegean Sea. The migrants, who had been attempting to enter Greece from neighboring Turkey, had issued a distress call after the vessel in which they were travelling encountered hail and strong winds, officials confirmed. Four coast guard vessels, one Hellenic Navy frigate and two cargo ships formed a rescue operation that lasted all night. The nationalities of the immigrants were not immediately clear.
