ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's official news agency says the coast guard has launched a dramatic rescue operation to evacuate migrants stranded on rocks in the Aegean Sea.

At least 68 migrants were attempting to illegally cross to Greece on a rubber dinghy from the western province of Izmir. Anadolu Agency said authorities intervened after receiving an emergency call.

Video showed a helicopter lifting a person off the rocks using a rope. Anadolu said two helicopters and a boat were dispatched for the operation.

There was no information on the migrants' nationalities but more than 3.3 million Syrians live in Turkey.

At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, more than 857,000 migrants reached Greece from Turkey. A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union dramatically reduced the numbers.