Dozens of migrants disappeared in a shipwreck in the Aegean by winds of up to 102 kilometers per hour

• August 2022 Fifty Migrants Missing in a Shipwreck in the Aegean Sea

Dozens of migrants are missing in the Aegean Sea after the sailboat they were on board collided on Wednesday against a

and was half-sunken, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard.

have been rescued

, according to the testimonies of those rescued to the Hellenic authorities.

In a statement, the coast guard reported winds of up to 102 kilometers per hour.

"The ship capsized and they ended up in the water," the coastguard spokeswoman added to AFP.

A

, a Coast Guard boat, police officers and firefighters, boats that were near the area and special coast guard rescue teams have participated in the search and rescue operation.

Operations are hampered by

, with gusts reaching up to 10.

According to the statement released by the Greek Coast Guard, at 17:47 GMT they received a signal that a boat was in danger, however, its exact location was not specified.

A few minutes later the authorities were able to establish that the drifting sailboat was near the Diakofti port on the island of Kythera.

At 18:04 GMT, a coastguard vehicle arrived in the area and four minutes later the boat exploded against the rocks, according to the statement.

The search and rescue operation will continue throughout the night.

There is still no information on the nationalities of the people who were traveling on the sailboat.

Migrant smuggling from neighboring Turkey has increased in southern Greece as smugglers try to evade increased controls in the Aegean Sea to reach Italy.

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