The 85 immigrants who were rescued by the Coast Guard after emitting a distress signal off the coast of Astypalea on Thursday morning will be transferred to Kos.

Initially the Coast Guard took the rescued immigrants, which included 15 children and 30 women, to Astypalea for first aid and food, however due to the limited resources available the prosecutor decided that they should be transferred to Kos instead.

Two of the men saved in the Coast Guard operation, one of whom is a Turkish citizen, refused to give their personal details and are being detained at the Port Police of Kos on suspicion of being traffickers. Of the remaining immigrants, 69 were taken to local hotels and 14 to the local police department.