Authorities in Greece said on Monday that the bodies of four men have been recovered so far following another tragic migrant boat shipwreck off the shore of Lesvos, in the Agrilia area south of Mytilene airport in the southwest of the island.

Another seven men have been rescued.

According to sources, the boat was carrying roughly 40 men from Sudan, who set off from the Turkish coast at midnight on Sunday and reached Lesvos at about 3:00 on Monday morning, at a time when strong southerly winds of about six to seven Beaufort were blowing in the area.

The shipwreck was caused when  the boat crashed onto rocks along the shore and its occupants were pitched into the water.

Coast Guard sources said that a search-and-rescue operation has been launched both at sea and along the shoreline, both from the land and the air, in the hopes of rescuing more of the migrants that have managed to come ashore.

In addition to coast guard officers in boats and cars, there is also assistance from a Super Puma Hellenic Air Force helicopter.