More than 80 Kurdish refugees who were stranded on the Greek waters of the Ionian Sea while crossing to Italy have finally been saved and transported to a Greek port, journalist Piştiwan Caf told Kurdistan 24 on Friday night.

Eighty-three Kurdish refugees, including children and people with health problems, found themselves stranded in Greek waters, Gazete Duvar reported earlier on Friday.

Hoping to reach Italy in pursuit of a better life, Kurdish refugees from Iran and Iraq were drifting in a damaged boat without access to food and water and risked capsizing at any moment.

On Friday night, a large cargo ship rescued the refugees and transported them to the nearest Greek port, Kurdistan24 quoted journalist Piştiwan Caf as saying.

The migrants had informed Greek authorities on Thursday, in addition to other people reaching out to the Greek Coast Guard about the incident, but no rescue had arrived as of Friday morning.

The refugees including 25 children and 30 women said they wanted to apply for asylum in Greece, adding that they had to flee as they were afraid of being sent back to Turkey and Iran.