ATHENS (Reuters) – Italy on Friday alerted Greece to a vessel holding dozens of migrants sailing off the southern coastal town of Pylos, two sources said, just two days after an overcrowded fishing boat sank nearby killing at least 78 people.
“It is sailing about 100 miles west of Pylos, it was located by an Italian aircraft,” a Greek government official told Reuters, adding that the alert was received around 1500 GMT.
The vessel appeared to be sailing towards Italy, a second official said, adding that it was located in Greece’s search and rescue jurisdiction but was very close to Italy’s jurisdiction. The official said an estimated 40-45 people were on board.
Greece had deployed two vessels and a helicopter in the area.
At least 78 people died when a fishing boat packed with hundreds of migrants capsized and sank in international waters 50 miles (80 km) off Pylos on Wednesday morning.
Greek authorities were alerted by Italy about that boat too. Greece rescued 104 people but hundreds are missing, with some witnesses saying up to 750 people were on board when it sank.
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(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Nick Macfie)