3 dead off a Greek island after a boat with migrants runs into trouble

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s coast guard says three people died and another five were rescued after a boat carrying migrants ran into trouble off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos.

The coast guard said Monday it was unclear how many people had been on board the boat, believed to have been a dinghy, or what exactly had occurred.

An extensive search and rescue operation was underway in the area northwest of Samos with three coast guard patrol boats and a private vessel, as well as an air force helicopter and crews in case survivors had managed to reach the shore.

There was no immediate information on the identities or nationalities of those rescued or on the three bodies recovered.

Greece lies along one of the most popular routes into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Despite a crackdown by Greek authorities along the border with Turkey, thousands of people make it across, often from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands using flimsy inflatable dinghies.