Freighter rescues 62 migrants south of the island of Kos

Greece’s coast guard says 62 migrants have been rescued from a sailboat that issued a distress call after it began taking on water while sailing in the eastern Aegean Sea.

The coast guard said it had launched a search and rescue operation after receiving a distress call in the early hours of Monday about a vessel in distress in rough seas south of the remote island of Syrna, south of the island of Kos.

A German-flagged cargo container ship in the area rescued the 62 people who had been on the stricken sailboat, which was taking on water, the coast guard said. There were no immediate reports of any missing people or any casualties.

The survivors were later transferred to a coast guard lifeboat and were being transported to the island of Kos. Their nationalities weren’t immediately known.