The Raptor, which set off from El Dekheila port in Egypt and was sailing to Istanbul in Turkey, sank near Lesbos on Sunday morning.

Built in 1984, the Comoros-flagged ship reported a mechanical failure and issued a distress call, the Greek coastguard said.

The ship was carrying 6,000 tonnes of salt.

Eight of the crew were Egyptians and the rest were Syrian and Indian nationals.

Eight merchant ships, two helicopters and one Greek navy frigate have joined the rescue effort.

Three additional coast guard vessels had difficulty reaching the area because of rough seas

One person, an Egyptian, has been rescued and airlifted to hospital in wind speeds reaching 9-10, meaning a strong gale to storm force on the Beaufort scale.

An emergency weather warning by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) was upgraded on Saturday from "worsening weather" to "dangerous weather phenomena", as Storm Oliver moved from the Adriatic Sea toward Greece.