BBC — Greek rescuers have picked up 29 migrants at sea off the western island of Lefkada as they headed for Italy.
It is the first time migrants have been rescued trying to cross from Greece to Italy since Greece’s land border with Macedonia was closed in March.
The migrants, whose nationalities remain unknown, were found adrift in the Ionian Sea on Sunday.
Their dinghy was apparently left adrift by their smugglers, the BBC’s Thomas Fessy reports from Athens.
The migrants had sailed from Lefkada and were picked up about 15 nautical mile (27km) from the island. Two children, aged four and five, were among the group.
Italy lies about 240km (150 miles) from Lefkada.
The Italian authorities said the rescue of more than 600 migrants off Libya on Saturday by a flotilla of EU ships took the weekly total to at least 13,000.
