More than 300 migrants rescued off Crete: Greek officials

Greek authorities have rescued over 300 migrants coming mainly from Bangladesh, Egypt, Yemen and Sudan over the last two days, officials said Tuesday.

Nearly half of them were rescued on Monday off the island of Crete, the coast guard said, adding that they were travelling on at least three makeshift vessels.

Search operations continued on Tuesday despite strong winds in the area, they said.

A coast guard official said the migrants were being held by Cretan police and would be transferred to reception centres on the Greek mainland.

Crete has become the main gateway for asylum seekers arriving mainly from Tobruk in eastern Libya, a perilous crossing.

At the end of March, 22 people died while adrift in the Mediterranean after leaving from Libya and their bodies were thrown overboard, according to survivors who were rescued off Crete.

Due to the increase in migrant arrivals in Crete during the summer tourist season last year, Greece suspended the asylum application procedure for three months, drawing criticism from the UN and rights bodies.

Greece's conservative government strongly supports moves by the European union to crack down on illegal migration, including the setting up of the so-called "return hubs" outside the bloc to house failed asylum seekers.