#sea-rescue

#sea-rescue

A coastguard spokesperson told the AFP news agency that the rescued asylum seekers were from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territory. They were taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, the spokesperson said, and after undergoing health checks, their asylum claims will be processed. In a separate incident on Thursday, the European Union's border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women seeking refuge from two boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek coastguard added.

Rough seas that flipped a fishing boat Saturday morning kept hammering the five people tossed into Tomales Bay, draining their strength as they clung to life in the frigid water. One of them a 6-year-old girl was trapped beneath the overturned vessel. Her father dove under, reaching blindly in water where he couldn't know what hazards fishing gear, lines or ropes might be lurking.