Over 300 refugees found hidden in yacht: Greek coastguard

Lifeguards stand with their jet skis next to a yacht that carried refugees and migrants near the Greek island of Lesbos on November 9, 2015

Athens (AFP) - The Greek coastguard on Monday said it had discovered over 300 refugees hidden in a yacht that ran aground near the island of Lesbos.

"The coastguard found and rescued 345 refugees," the agency said, adding that the yacht was discovered on Tsonia beach in the northeast of the island.
It added that none of the refugees, whose nationalities were not disclosed, required immediate hospitalisation.

Greek media reported that each of the migrants had paid traffickers around 3,000 euros ($3,200) for transportation to Lesbos.

Lesbos and other Greek Aegean islands are at the forefront of the greatest migration challenge facing the European Union since World War II.

Over 600,000 migrants and refugees, mostly from war-torn Syria, have landed in Greece this year, but nearly 500 have died in the Aegean.