Rescue Effort Launched For 300 In Stricken Boat Off Cyprus

The people stranded on the vessel are believed to be refugees escaping the conflict in Syria.

A Cypriot cruise ship was involved in a bid to rescue hundreds of migrants left adrift in the Mediterranean after their boat hit rough seas, Reuters reported.

The Salamis Philoxenia cruise liner was directed to the area to offer assistance to the vessel, according to Salamis Cruise Lines' Kikis Vasilou.

Vasilou said the cruise ship would be able to provide blankets, medical care, and food, and would take the migrants to the Cypriot port of Limassol.

Authorities picked up a distress signal early on Thursday morning. No reason has been given as to why the boat issued its call, but a defense ministry statement said it was due to "inclement weather conditions."

Thousands of migrants take to unsafe vessels each year attempting to escape conflicts in northern Africa and the Middle East by crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, and hundreds have died at sea.

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