Greek coastguard rescues nearly 400 migrants off Crete

About 365 migrants were rescued 35 nautical miles off Gavdos after a joint coastguard operation

The Greek coastguard on Friday rescued nearly 400 would-be migrants from a fishing boat and another vessel off southern Crete, ANA news agency reported.

In one operation about 35 nautical miles from the small island of Gavdos, off Crete, a coastguard vessel, a Danish freighter and a helicopter took 365 people off a fishing boat, according to the agency.

Earlier about 30 people were moved onto a Frontex European frontier agency boat, about 25 nautical miles from Gavdos. They were taken to Crete.

Some 39 people on a rubber dinghy were rescued on Thursday just south of Crete.

The sea between Turkey and Greece and Libya to Greece are popular routes for undocumented migrants trying to reach Europe.

There are many accidents however. Seventeen bodies, mainly Egyptians and Sudanese, were found and another 15 people were believed missing after one their vessel capsized this month.