Ship off Greek island of Corfu issues distress signal

Greek authorities are sending a navy frigate and helicopter to an area near the Greek island of Corfu in response to a distress signal sent from a cargo ship carrying hundreds of migrants.

Greek TV earlier reported that the SOS possibly involves armed individuals aboard the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship, the "Blue Sky M." The ship is believed to be carrying about 600 migrants.

The ship was sailing in poor weather conditions at the time. News reports put the ship's location as just off the tiny island near the tiny island of Othonoi, northwest of Corfu.

A tracking map from MarineTraffic.com shows that the Blue Sky M making a sharp right turn toward the mainland as it approaches Othonoi, then an equally abrupt 180-degree turn taking it out to open sea.

Marine Traffic's data shows that the ship's last port was Korfez, Turkey, and was en route to Croatia.

The Greek frigate Navarino, which is heading to locate the cargo ship, had been in the area helping in the rescue operation for the Norman Atlantic, a Greek ferry that caught fire in the area on Sunday. At least 10 people died in that incident while more than 400 were rescued.

The distress signal in the latest incident came from one of the passengers, according to Greek authorities.

Corfu is located in the Ionian Sea off northwest mainland Greece.

Contributing: Associated Press