"Syrian refugees" stranded off Cyprus coast
September 25, 2014
Thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and north Africa have attempted the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean sea on unsafe vessels to seek asylum in Europe.
In this latest incident, the Cypriot defense ministry released a statement on Thursday saying the island's emergency services had launched a rescue mission for around 300 suspected Syrian refugees on a boat caught in rough seas.
The authorities said they had responded to "a radio distress signal" due to "bad weather" from the boat around 50 nautical miles southwest of the coastal town of Paphos.
Cypriot defense ministry spokeswoman, Elena Fysentzou, told the Associated Press that a small fishing boat loaded with hundreds of suspected migrants had been located off the east Mediterranean island.
It's reported that men, women and children are onboard the vessel, which is believed to have set sail "possibly from Syria."
Fysentzou also said she couldn't say at the present time what would happen to the boat or those onboard.
lw/mg (AFP, Reuters)