A Russian warship and cargo ship rescued 68 people overnight from a boat in the Mediterranean Sea, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday.

It said in a statement that the Admiral Gorshkov warship had been the first to receive a distress call from the Avalon, which it described as a “yacht-type vessel” flying the Greek and German flags.

The “Avalon” was in Greek territorial waters at the time of the distress signal, after which the Russian warships immediately changed their course and headed towards the site of the incident, according to the statement.

The Gorshkov and the cargo vessel, the Pizhma, carried out a successful rescue operation and the passengers were given medical assistance and transferred to Greek coastguard boats off the island of Kalymnos, the statement said.

The statement did not provide any details of the nationalities of the passengers who were rescued.

Around 300 people, mostly from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, are feared to have drowned in a boat capsize off Greece last week.