Cyprus police: boat with 83 migrants aboard towed to harbor

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - A Cyprus police spokesman says a boat with 83 people aboard including 37 children has been towed to a harbor on the east Mediterranean island's northwestern coast.

Spokesman Andreas Angelides told the Associated Press that all those aboard are believed to be Syrian migrants. He said authorities are trying to confirm initial information the boat set sail from Mersin, Turkey and intended to reach Cyprus.

He said the boat was towed Friday morning after being spotted a few miles off the coast the previous evening.

Cyprus Civil Defense spokeswoman Olivia Michaelidou told the AP a reception center on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia is being prepared.

Cyprus lies around 100 miles (160 kilometers) off Syria's Mediterranean coast but hasn't' seen a mass refugee influx.