Boat carrying Kurds runs aground in France
A boat carrying about 1,500 Iraqi Kurds has run aground off the coast of southern France.
Local maritime officials say most people remained inside the vessel after it grounded off the Riviera.
Officials say about 100 people reached the beach near the town of Boulouris, between Saint Raphael and Nice, and they were apparently unhurt.
Francois Villat, a spokesman for the regional maritime authority, says: "The sea was beautiful. The sky was clear. The reasons for the boat to have run aground are unknown".
He says the Cambodian-registered boat is believed to have originated in Greece and to have been heading for another European country.
Villat says a rescue operation is under way and medical personnel are being dispatched to the scene.
