NICOSIA: Over 200 Syrian migrants crammed onto a fishing boat were rescued off the northern coast of Cyprus on Sunday as the vessel hit rough seas in the Mediterranean, authorities said.

Turkish Cypriot authorities were able to rescue the passengers including a number of children in an operation lasting several hours in bad weather, local police said in a statement.

The boat had signalled for help when it was some 300 metres (yards) off the coast near the port of Kyrenia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey.

The passengers were transferred to another vessel and later taken to a gymnasium in Kyrenia.

The statement said 13 migrants were taken to hospital but that their lives were not in danger.

The others were sent back later Sunday by ferry to the southern Turkish port city of Mersin, from where they had set off.

Turkey has become a hub for illegal immigrants seeking to reach western Europe, with many setting their sights on Italy.

The UN refugee agency says that more than 2,500 people have drowned or disappeared so far in 2014 while trying to cross the Mediterranean.

On Sept 10, some 500 died when their boat was intentionally capsized off Malta in the deadliest such recent incident. Many of the migrants were Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian and Sudanese.

More than half of Syria’s population has been forced to flee since war in their country began in March 2011.

The United Nations says 3.2 million people have fled beyond Syria’s borders, and more than 7.2 million have become internally displaced.

EU member Cyprus lies about 100 kilometres off Syria’s coast, but has not seen a major influx of refugees as migrants prefer to bypass the island to reach larger European nations.

Published in Dawn, November 24th , 2014