11 refugees, including six children, have drowned off the coast of Greece.

It is thought the boat that they were travelling in was carrying people from Turkey to Greece.

"We recovered 11 drowned bodies, 10 of which were trapped inside the vessel's cabin," a coast guard official told Reuters.

Four babies are reported to be among the dead, while a search and rescue operation is underway for two people still missing from the boat.

An estimated 670,000 asylum-seekers have entered Europe so far this year, many of them fleeing war at home in Syria and Africa.

Bad weather has made the already dangerous crossing between Turkey and Greece even more treacherous.