Greece rescues crew of Liberia-flagged vessel

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek authorities on Wednesday rescued the crew of a Liberia-flagged cargo vessel adrift in the Aegean Sea, coast guard officials said.

The coast guard received a distress signal from a vessel in the morning, with the crew requesting to abandon the ship which sailed uncontrolled between the islands of Lesbos and Skyros due to an engine failure.

The ship was leaning to one side after its cargo had moved around, the coast guard said, adding that gale force winds were blowing in the area.

Airforce helicopters removed 10 people from the ship and another four men from a lifeboat and transferred them to Skyros. The vessel was carrying steel, a coastguard official said.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou)