A Greek coastguard vessel combed the waters off the island of Kos today and returned to shore with scores of migrants making the crossing from Turkey in a fleet of small - often inflatable - boats.

Police stood watch on the quayside of the small island's port as the vessel docked and relieved migrants walked onto dry land.

Officials processed paperwork for the migrants before they moved off the dockside to be temporarily homed on the island while authorities decide their eventual destination.

The Turkey-Greece route is a thriving business for smugglers profiting from the stream of people fleeing war and poverty.

Traffickers in Turkey are getting help shepherding growing numbers of Syrians to Greece, thanks to Syrian accomplices, migrants say.

The influx - 140,000 this year including 50,000 in July alone according to the International Rescue Committee, mainly from Syria - is overwhelming a nation in economic crisis.

In Kos, within sight of Turkish shores, officials estimate there are 7,000 migrants out of a population, excluding tourists, of around 30,000.