A boat carrying asylum seekers who were on their way to Italy has sunk in Greece killing at least 12 people according to a report on Aljazeera's news portal.
"So far 12 bodies have been recovered. The search and rescue operation continues," the Greek coast guard said in a statement to media outlets as quoted by Aljazeera.
The coast guard added that 21 people had been rescued from the tragedy. 3 people who were part of the group that was rescued were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.
Law enforcement authorities say that the boat sunk after taking water near the island of Paxi on its way to Italy. Helicopters and ships have been deployed by Greek authorities in a bid to locate the sunken bodies.
Coast guard officers rushed to the site of the tragedy after receiving a distress signal. Initial reports indicate that 50 people were on board when the ill-fated boat went under.
According to ABC News the distress signal was sent by someone claiming to have been on the boat. This is not the first time that migrants have lost their lives off the Greek coast. Last year 7 people were reported to have lost their lives on their way to Italy to seek asylum.