One man drowned off the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos yesterday after the boat that was transporting him and 19 fellow illegal immigrants sank some 80 meters from shore, the Merchant Marine Ministry said.

A coast guard patrol boat and three fishing vessels rushed to the area and picked up 12 migrants who were trying to make their way to land. Seven others were detained after they swam the distance.

Authorities were continuing patrols in the area in order to find any other migrants that may have not been detected. The nationalities of the illegal immigrants were not released and it was not clear what type of vessel they had been sailing in.

Three of the migrants were taken to the hospital suffering from hypothermia while the others were taken to a health center for checkups.

In 2005, authorities detained 2,623 illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the country or make their way to Europe via Greece.