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Greek coast guard picks up nearly 2,500 migrants from sea in last 3 days amid surge to Europe

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Refugees try to get in a bus after they arrived on a ferry at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. About 2,500 refugees from the islands of Lesbos, Kos and Leros , which they reached in small boats from nearby Turkey, arrived at the port .Greece has been overwhelmed this year by record numbers of migrants. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

Syrian Refugees arrive on a ferry at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. About 2,500 refugees from the islands of Lesbos, Kos and Leros , which they reached in small boats from nearby Turkey, arrived at the port .Greece has been overwhelmed this year by record numbers of migrants. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

Syrian migrants disembark from a ferry at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. About 2,500 refugees from the islands of Lesvos, Kos and Leros, which they reached in small boats from nearby Turkey, arrive by ferry onto Greece mainland, which has been overwhelmed by migrant arrivals. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (The Associated Press)

Greece's coast guard says it has picked up nearly 2,500 migrants from the sea in dozens of search and rescue operations over the weekend, part of a relentless flow of people heading for the safety of Europe after facing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The coast guard said Monday it had rescued 2,492 people in 70 operations off the eastern islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Agathonissi, Farmakonissi, Kos and Symi from Friday morning until Monday morning.

Separately, it said a coast guard patrol boat rescued another 13 people spotted in the water near the port of Chios by a local boat. One person was recovered unconscious and transported to a hospital. The circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear.