Refugee boat runs aground on Cephalonia

A boat with 29 refugees on board ran landed on the shore at Megas Lakkos beach in Lixouri on the Ionian island of Cephalonia late Friday night, after an engine failure.

All the refugees – 10 children, five women and 14 men – were in good health.

Their boat had suffered a breakdown in the sea area between Cephalonia and the nearby island of Zakynthos during a powerful storm with gale-force winds of up to 9 Beaufort.

The refugees were expected to be transferred to Athens over the weekend.