Rescue operation underway for 17 passengers after British tourist boat sinks off Greek island
Rescue operation underway for 17 passengers after British tourist boat sinks off Greek island
- British-flagged 98ft yacht overturned off the northwest coast of Milos, Greece
- Naval vessels, a helicopter, and an air force helicopter were assisting rescuers
- At least 17 passengers were onboard when the boat sank on Wednesday morning
A rescue operation is underway for 17 passengers after a British tourist boat sank off the Greek island of Milos.
Three naval vessels, two ships, a private vessel, a navy helicopter and an air force helicopter were assisting the rescue operation, the coast guard said.
Officials received an SOS signal from the boat this morning after it overturned 16 miles off the northwest coast of Milos.
Coast guard spokesman Nikolaos Kokkalas said survivors were being picked up from the Aegean Sea.
The circumstances of the accident were not immediately known but it is thought the tourists were on board a British-flagged 98ft yacht.
Mayor of Milos, Manolis Mikelis, said: ‘We have information for 17 people, we are in the process of collecting people from the sea.
‘At the moment there is wind in the area and it is making a lot of waves, we were told about a yacht. With every reservation, the boat has been overturned.’
It is understood there were no children onboard when the boat sank.
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