Greek authorities on Thursday intercepted 157 illegal migrants on beaches in Pylos and Methoni, in western Greece. The migrants, among them women and young children, had come there intending to board ships heading for Italy and had mostly been illegally resident in Greece.

Fifty-six were found on board a yacht in Finikounda and arrested, while 27 that were underage were later released. The captain of the boat was a Greek that abandoned the vessel when the inspection started and has not yet been found.

The migrants under arrest are now being held on the premises of a private shop and one woman in an advanced state of pregnancy has been taken to Kalamata General Hospital.

A further 102 migrants were found on a beach in Methoni, having arrived there in a coach supplied by an organised ring of migrant traffickers for a fee. They had been left on the beach in order to board a boat heading for Italy.