ATHENS (Reuters) -Three migrants died and many more were feared missing after their boat sank on Monday off the Greek island of Samos, the Greek coastguard said.
At least 30 migrants were believed to be initially on board the vessel that foundered off the rocky shores of Agios Isidoros in the northwestern part of the Aegean island, according to coastguard officials.
The three migrants found dead were all women, a coastguard official said. Five migrants had been rescued so far, among them a pregnant woman and a minor, who were taken to hospital for medical checks, another official told Reuters.
Four vessels and a naval helicopter were participating in the search-and-rescue operation launched by the coastguard early in the morning, after a resident reported the arrival of a few migrants on the shore.
Strong winds in the area hindered the operation, the official added.
Greek authorities were also searching the island in case some of those believed missing had already reached the shore.
Greece was a favoured gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015-2016, when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, mostly via inflatable dinghies.
The flow of people dropped off before resurging last year.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis; editing by Alex Richardson, Gareth Jones and Mark Heinrich)
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