Two people drowned when a cargo ship from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) sank in the Aegean Sea, Turkish maritime authorities announced on Monday.

The cargo ship, named "Lady-O" sent Mayday messages around 1:00 a.m. Monday (2300 GMT Sunday), and later sank 51.8 km southwest of Lesbos island of Greece, the authorities said.

Search and rescue teams were sent to the scene of the accident, said the authorities, adding that three people were rescued while bodies of the two drowned were retrieved from the sea.

Two boats and one helicopter were continuing their searching efforts to find six other missing crew members.