AKIPRESS.COM - The Italian navy said on Tuesday it had rescued nearly 600 Syrian, Palestinian and Eritrean migrants crossing the Mediterranean in two overcrowded boats, including 62 minors, The Nation reported.

Thus, the Italian frigate pulled 323 Syrians and Palestinians to safety late on Monday, after helping rescue another 273 migrants from Eritrea, who were taken aboard the gunboat Sfinge.

Meanwhile, seven migrants including two children died early on Tuesday after their boat sank in the Aegean Sea, Greek port authorities said. Two others remained missing after the accident off the island of Lesbos. Eight people were plucked out of the sea alive.

Greece is one of the main ports of entry into the EU for people fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the ME and the Indian subcontinent.

Refugee arrivals have increased over the past year because of the war in Syria.