Coast guard authorities rescued 14 people, including three children, from the shores of the small island Farmakonisi in the Dodecanese region and took them to the island of Leros on Tuesday morning (September 5).

The deceased body of a man was also found with the group, but it was unclear how he had died.

The migrants had apparently arrived on the island from the Turkish coast in a dinghy that had sunk, the coast guard said. There were no reports of anyone missing.

Also read: Lesbos: At least four people dead after migrant boat sinks

Activists said they had alerted the coast guard and the Leros port authority late Monday evening that a group was in distress on the island. Alarm Phone, a hotline for refugees in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, tweeted that there were 15 people, one of whom had heart problems.

Another NGO, Aegean Boat Report, said 20 people trapped on the island had contacted them asking for help. One of the migrants, who was reported to have paralysis below the waist, had lost consciousness, ABR tweeted.

"His family believe he won’t survive the night if not attended to." The Greek coast guard was informed at 21:20 pm local time (Eastern European Summer Time), according to ABR.

A Greek military garrison is stationed on Farmakonisi, but the migrants were too afraid to go there to seek help, ABR wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

There has been a rise in sea crossings to Greece by people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Nearly 18,600 migrants have arrived in Greece so far this year, according to United Nations figures.

Also read: More than 180 migrants rescued off Western Greece and in Aegean Sea

Italy is still the main country of entry to the EU for migrants, with about 114,200 arrivals so far this year. Spain follows with more than 21,200 arrivals.

With AP