Vessel is 113 refugees from sea

athens - A Maltese ship Wednesday 113 refugees from a small vessel rescued the Ionian Sea. The Gagliarda brought them to the Greek port of Patras.

The boat drifted with refugees adrift in the sea that lies between the Greek coast and the boot of Italy. The crew are from Pakistan (109), Syria (3) and India (1), as the Greek coast guard announced. It is not clear where the group began its journey, possibly in Crete or somewhere on the Greek west coast. Crete is the authorities increasingly base for illegal crossing to Italy.

Since the so-called Balkan route by land to refugees through the many roadblocks is hardly used anymore, more and more people choose the dangerous sea route. The Greek coast guard has rescued hundreds of people at sea since early this year.