ATHENS: Some 700 migrants were believed to be on board a freighter stranded by mechanical failure south of the island of Crete, the Greek coastguard said on Tuesday.

A Greek navy ship was leading the rescue mission.

“The operation is in progress, we have information that there are 700 people on board,” coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos told Skai TV.

“They are not at risk and the ship faces no immediate danger”. “A Greek navy frigate is overseeing the operation,” Lagadianos said.

A coastguard spokeswoman had earlier said that the Kiribati-flagged freighter “Baris” was adrift some 30 nautical miles (56 kilometres) southeast of Crete since early on Tuesday.

The area was subject to strong winds and deteriorating weather, the spokeswoman said.

“There are currently five vessels in the area, including a Greek navy vessel. The migrants will either be picked up or the freighter will be towed to the nearest port,” she said.

Greek media reported that the migrants will be taken to Cretan port of Ierapetra but will not be allowed to disembark before health tests are carried out.

Greece is one of the main points of entry into the European Union for people fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Many of the recent arrivals are escaping the war in Syria, where some 200,000 people have been killed, according to UN figures.

People traffickers are increasingly using Greece’s Aegean islands to smuggle migrants into Europe after the building of a fence and tighter controls along the Greek-Turkish land border.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2014