Greece: 3 dead, 302 people rescued from boat

Greek authorities said on Friday three bodies had been recovered and 302 people rescued from a sinking migrant boat carrying a "significant number" of people in the Mediterranean Sea south of Crete.

The coast guard said the roughly 25m vessel, which resembled a large fishing boat, had been carrying an undetermined number of people when it was located half-sunk about 75 nautical miles south of Crete in international waters and within Egypt's search and rescue area of operation.

Greece was sending two patrol vessels, a military airplane and three helicopters, while five passing ships were participating in the rescue operation and one more was on its way. The coast guard said the operation was continuing to locate any potentially missing passengers from the migrant boat.

It was not immediately clear where the boat's passengers were from, or where the vessel had set off from or was heading to.