CHAMILO , GRÈCE (AFP) - Some 1,000 migrants stranded at a camp on the Greek border set off on foot towards Macedonia on Monday (Mar 13) in search of an alternative route into the country, an Agence France-Presse reporter saw, adding that the group was quickly surrounded by Greek police.

The migrants, including many families, marched from the overcrowded Idomeni camp to the village of Chamilo some two kilometres (over one mile) away, closer to the sealed frontier with Macedonia.

Carrying all their belongings, they crossed hills and a river to reach the village, the reporter said.

There was no immediate sign of any Macedonian police across the border.

More than 12,000 people have been stranded at Idomeni in increasingly desperate conditions after the main migrant route to western Europe through the Balkans was effectively shut down last week.

Earlier on Monday, Macedonia's interior ministry said two men and one woman, believed to be migrants who tried to enter Macedonia illegally, were found drowned near the Greek border after days of heavy rain.