Greece rescued 14 migrants including eight children from a rocky shore on the island of Chios, the coastguard said on Wednesday, adding that search-and-rescue operations were ongoing.

The migrants were believed to have reached the island in the Aegean Sea near Turkey on a dinghy, a coastguard official said. It was not immediately clear how many had been on board.

Greece has been a favored gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015 when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands.

Numbers dropped significantly before rising again last year to 41,561 arrivals by sea. Some 10,163 migrants have reached Greece by sea so far this year.