Cruise ship tries to save Syrian refugees

A cruise ship is trying to rescue hundreds of people stranded aboard a small boat off Cyprus, believed to be refugees who have fled Syria.

Salamis Cruise Lines said one of its ships has been instructed to change course and pick up the estimated 300 people, mostly women and children.

A Cypriot Defence Ministry statement said the small boat “most likely” set sail from Syria loaded with “civilian refugees”.

Salamis Cruise Lines managing director Kikis Vasiliou said the company received a request from Cypriot search and rescue authorities to assist in the rescue operation as the liner was returning to Cyprus from the Greek islands.

The Defence Ministry said the small boat is about 50 nautical miles off Cyprus’s south-western coastal town of Paphos.

Mr Vasiliou said the cruise ship, with a crew of 230 and a passenger capacity of 800, would be able to give rescued people blankets, medical care and food while taking them to the Cypriot port of Limassol.

The Defence Ministry said the boat issued an emergency call because of “inclement weather conditions”. The ministry said once the rescued people arrive in Cyprus they will be given shelter.

Thousands of migrants fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and northern Africa attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in rickety boats in search of safe havens in Europe, and hundreds have died at sea.