Nearly 170 boat migrants who attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea have been rescued off the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese. Their boat had run into trouble about 90 kilometers south of Peloponnese due to an engine failure.
The vessel had been adrift for several hours when the passengers were picked up by a passing freighter. Under the guidance of the coast guard, the migrants were taken to the southern Greek city of Kalamata.
Migrants have been picked up more often from the peninsula in recent months. According to the Greek Coast Guard, they are often transported by smugglers in old ships that cannot withstand the crossing by sea.
Last week, an NGO filed another case against Greece at the European Court of Human Rights for sending migrants back at sea. A Greek lifeboat and two small patrol boats reportedly broke the law last October when they stopped a migrant boat that had run into trouble for hours. The crew were later assaulted by the coast guard.
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