Coast guard rescues 63 migrants off Chios and Samos

Sixty-three migrants were rescued in two separate operations in the eastern Aegean on Tuesday, the Greek coast guard said in an announcement.

The first operation concerned a motorized rubber dinghy that was sailing off the northeast coast of Samos in the early hours of Tuesday, carrying 34 people on board.

The second took place on Chios and involved 29 people who were trying to scramble onto the island's shore. A 27-year-old man suspected of having smuggled the group to the island from Turkey was arrested.

No details were released concerning the identities of the migrants or whether there were women, children or other vulnerable individuals among them.