Some 70 irregular migrants were aboard an drifting sailboat off the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, southern Greece, on Sunday evening, near the town of Monemvasia.
One of the passengers on unidentified migrant-smuggling vessel called authorities via a cell phone to request assistance. Two freighters later arrived at the scene, with two coast guard vessels also en route.
In a related development, roughly 500 third country nationals hosted at the disused east terminal building of the old Athens airport went on a hunger strike on Sunday to demand better living conditions.
The facility hosts up to 1,500 people, mostly Mideast nationals requesting refugees status, but also would-be migrants from various Third World countries.
