14 Migrants Die Off Crete in Boat Tragedy

Fourteen migrants die off Crete on Monday after a container ship found their stricken boat, Greece’s coastguard said, in the second deadly incident in the area in recent days.

The boat was found on Monday about 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres) off Kaloi Limenes, a port on Crete’s south coast, after a Morocco-flagged container ship raised the alarm. Thirteen people were already dead when the coastguard reached the boat, and another died later in hospital. Eighteen survived.

What caused the deaths was not immediately clear. Greek authorities said the boat may have spent days at sea, held back from the shore by strong winds. “We found them [the survivors] shivering from the cold,” a local coastguard official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The coastguard said it had no immediate information on the identities or nationalities of those on board. The Associated Press reported that the 13 bodies recovered from the boat were those of 12 men and one woman. Four survivors were taken to hospital, including a toddler, and one of them later died, taking the toll to 14.

Second deadly incident in days

The deaths came two days after another boat ran into trouble in bad weather about six nautical miles south of Crete. The coastguard retrieved eight bodies from that boat on Saturday and rescued 28 migrants from Sudan. Two people were reported missing.

The Associated Press reported that at least 22 people died while attempting to reach Greece from North Africa over the past three days. More than 180 others were rescued on Monday morning from three more boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Crete, after the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, spotted them.

The Express Tribune reported the Monday incident from Athens, citing the Greek coastguard. The National News, which also covered the rescue, said the survivors and the bodies were brought ashore after the container ship raised the alarm.

Why migrants die off Crete

Crete lies south of mainland Greece, closer to the North African coast than to Athens, which makes it a first landfall for boats crossing the Mediterranean. Monday’s rescues show how busy that crossing has become: three boats were spotted in a single morning, and a fourth had already claimed lives over the weekend.

The boats can spend days at sea before they are found. In this case, strong winds kept the boat from the shore, and the survivors were found shivering from the cold when the container ship reached them. The coastguard has not said how long the boat had been at sea, or what caused the deaths.

The toll is a reminder that the sea crossing remains one of the most dangerous routes for people trying to reach Europe. A similar tragedy struck off Senegal, where 21 people were killed when a migrant boat sank.

What happens next

Greek authorities have yet to say what caused the deaths on Monday, and they have not released the identities of the dead or the survivors. The rescued migrants are receiving care, and the coastguard has not said when more detail will follow.

Frontex and the Greek coastguard patrol the waters south of Crete, where boats from North Africa arrive. The weekend deaths and Monday’s rescue underline the risks of the crossing.

Frequently asked questions

How many migrants died off Crete?

Fourteen migrants died. Thirteen were found dead on the boat, and one of four survivors taken to hospital later died. Eighteen people survived.

How was the boat found?

A Morocco-flagged container ship spotted the boat on Monday about 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres) off the port of Kaloi Limenes, on the south coast of Crete, and raised the alarm.

What happened in the earlier incident?

On Saturday, the coastguard retrieved eight bodies and rescued 28 migrants from Sudan after their boat ran into trouble in bad weather about six nautical miles south of Crete. Two people were reported missing.

What is Frontex?

Frontex is the European Union’s border agency. It spotted three more boats crossing from North Africa to Crete on Monday morning, and more than 180 people were rescued from them.