Greece rescues hundreds of refugees after ship sinks off Crete, recovers four bodies

Hundreds of refugees were rescued from a sinking ship on Friday in a massive operation in the southern Mediterranean off the island of Crete, the Greek coastguard said, but four bodies were also recovered.

Greek search and rescue teams were dispatched to the area, about 75 nautical miles off southern Crete in territory which falls under Egypt’s jurisdiction.

In total, 340 people were rescued by midday, Greek authorities said. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the refugees or on the victims.

Greek media said the wooden boat the refugees were sailing in started taking in water. It was not immediately clear where the boat had sailed from.

“From some scattered accounts we have heard [from those rescued] they set off from the African coastline,” coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos told Reuters.

It was too early to determine how many people had been on the vessel, he said.