Those rescued said the boat had set off from the Antalya region on the southern Turkish coast and was targeting Italy when it ran into trouble during the night.
Those rescued said the boat had set off from the Antalya region on the southern Turkish coast and was targeting Italy when it ran into trouble during the night.
Greek officials say a major search and rescue operation has been launched east of the island of Karpathos after a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank during the night.
The Coast Guard said that on 9 August, all the men were rescued from sea 61KM (33 nautical miles; 38 mi) east-southeast of Karpathos, a southeastern island between Rhodes and Crete. The Coast Guard said those rescued were from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran and told officials that there were about 60 to 80 people on board when the ship sank.
Those rescued said the boat had set off from the Antalya region on the southern Turkish coast and was targeting Italy when it ran into trouble during the night.
Two Coast Guard patrol boats, a Greek Navy vessel, an Air Force helicopter and at least three ships sailing nearby were taking part in the search and rescue efforts, the Coast Guard said.
The most common sea route for asylum seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa has been from Turkey to the nearby Greek islands.
But with Greek officials increasing patrols in the Aegean, and with reports that Turkey is deporting people briefly without allowing them to apply for asylum, many are now leaving the Greek islands and heading straight for Italy, Trying to take a more dangerous route. Greek authorities denied that they carried out illegal summary deportations of asylum seekers.