A cargo ship distress call issued Tuesday prompted Greece to send a navy frigate and a helicopter to locate the vessel believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants in the northern Ionian Sea.
The ship, the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky M, was sailing in poor weather near the tiny island of Othonoi, northwest of Corfu, and was believed to be carrying 400 to 600 migrants, The Associated Press reported.
Adm. Nikolaos Patrinos, head of the coast guard's security operations, said a passenger's phone call said the ship was eight to 10 miles off Corfu with a large number of migrants. "We are trying to locate it and seeing what we have nearby" to offer assistance, he said.
Patrinos said the passenger had also said "that we are without water, food, and blankets."
Other media reports said that the distress signal indicated there may be armed people aboard.
On Sunday a Greek passenger ferry caught fire in the same area, leading to a huge rescue operation by Italian and Greek coast guard and military officials. At least 10 people died in that incident, while more than 400 were rescued. Authorities are still searching for potential missing passengers from the Norman Atlantic ferry.
The Greek frigate Navarino, which is trying to locate the cargo ship, had been in the area assisting in the Norman Atlantic rescue operation.
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