Dangerous escape route | At least 20 dead in boat accidents near Crete

The Greek coast guard repeatedly discovers refugee boats in distress. Photo: dpa/Greek Coast Guard Athens.  At least 20 people died in a total of four accidents involving migrant boats south of Crete over the weekend. 133 people have been rescued so far, at least two are missing, reported the news channel ERTnews. Search and rescue work continued.

In the first case, which occurred on Saturday evening just a few nautical miles off the southern Crete coastal town of Kali Limenes, the Greek coast guard rescued 28 Sudanese and recovered eight dead. According to the authorities, the search is still ongoing for two people. According to survivors, the migrants had set sail from Libya days before and had paid between 1,000 and 2,500 euros for the dangerous journey. Two men aged 16 and 28 were arrested as suspected smugglers. 

In the same region, the crew of a passing container ship spotted another refugee boat and alerted the authorities. A Greek coast guard patrol boat rescued 18 people; twelve passengers were only rescued dead. In this case, there was no information yet on the nationality or place of departure of the migrants, Greek media reported.

In addition, 87 people were saved in two further rescue operations. Both boats were discovered by the EU border protection agency Frontex's air surveillance, one with 47 passengers on board and one with 40. Frontex forces picked up the people and took them to the coastal town of Kali Limenes.

Although refugee arrivals in Greece decreased overall in 2026 compared to the previous year, they rose sharply in Crete. More and more people are setting sail from Libya and Crete is the closest at 350 kilometers as the crow flies. Almost two thirds of the refugees come from Sudan and Bangladesh, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

As of November 1st, more than 22,500 people have arrived in Crete so far this year - already more than in the entire previous year with around 20,200 arrivals. Across Greece, however, the UNHCR has recorded around 37,500 arrivals so far, after 42,000 in the entire previous year.  dpa/nd

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