Bodies of 3 migrants retrieved off Greek island of Chios

ATHENS, Greece – Greece's coast guard says the bodies of three would-be migrants have been retrieved in the waters off the eastern Aegean island of Chios.

Two of the bodies were found Sunday morning by fishermen and the third early in the afternoon by a coast guard vessel. All three were men, who were presumably trying to cross into Greece from nearby Turkey.

A coast guard spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record to media, confirmed that an autopsy on the first two bodies showed they had drowned.

Tens of thousands of illegal migrants cross into Greece annually, most over the land and sea border with Turkey. The sea crossing, brief but often through turbulent waters and involving overloaded boats, is sometimes fatal.