Twelve found dead on migrant boat off Crete; 18 rescued

• Greek authorities recovered 12 bodies from a migrant boat south of Crete; a passing cargo ship rescued 18 survivors

• Two other boats carrying 87 people were located nearby, with those aboard being taken to a port on Crete’s southern coast

• The deaths come as the Libya–Crete crossing remains a major migration corridor into Greece

Greek authorities recovered the bodies of 12 people from a migrant boat south of Crete early on Monday, while a passing cargo ship rescued 18 survivors, the coast guard said.

The vessel was located about 15 nautical miles, or 28 kilometres, south of the island. Officials did not immediately release the identities or nationalities of those who died, and the circumstances of their deaths remained unclear.

Authorities also located two other boats in waters south of Crete, carrying 47 and 40 people respectively. Those aboard were being brought to a port on the island’s southern coast, according to the coast guard.

Across the three vessels, 105 people were found alive and 12 were recovered dead. The initial account did not establish where the boat carrying the victims had departed from or how long it had been at sea.

The discovery follows another fatal incident off southern Crete on Sunday, when one man was found dead and 28 people were rescued. A cargo ship and a tugboat assisted in that operation after a Frontex aircraft spotted the vessel southwest of Kali Limenes.

Crete has become an important arrival point for people attempting the Mediterranean crossing from North Africa, particularly eastern Libya. Greece is a gateway into Europe for people escaping conflict, persecution and poverty across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

According to the European border agency Frontex, the Libya–Crete corridor accounted for more than half of detections along the Eastern Mediterranean migration route in the first six months of 2026. That made it the most active corridor within the route, ahead of crossings through the Aegean islands and the land border with Türkiye.

The agency has warned that smugglers continue to dispatch overcrowded and unseaworthy boats, exposing passengers to potentially fatal conditions at sea. Monday’s discovery adds to the human toll, although authorities had yet to establish what caused the deaths aboard this particular vessel.

With PTI inputs