VIDEO: Migrant boat runs aground off Greek island

The Associated Press

A wooden sailboat carrying dozens of immigrants ran aground on April 20 off the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes and at least three people, including a child, have drowned, the Greek coast guard said.

It is unclear how or why a boat carrying migrants ran ashore.

Greek authorities said they received an emergency call from the boat, which is a wooden gulet with a mast, at at 10:45 am local time (0745 GMT).
      
A total of 93 people were rescued from the sea.



      
Twenty-three people were transported to a hospital for first aid treatment and the others were taken to the local police station. It was unclear what the total number of people on board was, and authorities say a search and rescue operation is ongoing in the area to locate more potential survivors.
     
The nationalities of the migrants was not immediately known. Tens of thousands of migrants attempt to enter the European Union through Greece each year.

European Union president Latvia is calling on the EU's executive arm to urgently propose new measures to beef up Europe's border agency to respond to the migrant emergency in the Mediterranean.
     
Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said April 20 that the presidency "is committed to facilitate swift adoption of short-term emergency measures once they are proposed."
     
Rescuers are combing the waters of the Mediterranean off Libya where hundreds of migrants are thought to have drowned when their boat overturned.
     
EU foreign and interior ministers are to hold emergency talks in Luxembourg on the crisis later on April 20.
     
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the ministers would discuss whether the 28 EU leaders should hold an emergency summit this week.