12 people found dead on boat carrying migrants near Greek island of Crete

Greek authorities recovered 12 bodies from a boat found sailing some 15 nautical miles south of the island of Crete on Monday.No further information was immediately available on their identity or the circumstances of their deaths. According to the coast guard, a passing Moroccan-flagged cargo ship rescued 18 people from the same vessel, which was carrying migrants. All of the people onboard will be taken ashore.Another two boats, one carrying about 47 people and another with about 40 people on board, were also found sailing south of the tourist island. It was reported that the first was spotted by an aircraft from the European Union's border agency Frontex, while the second was found by a Frontex drone.Around 31, 800 migrant crossings were recorded in the Mediterranean in the first three quarters of 2026 (AP)Greece is one of the main entry points into the EU for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In recent months, thousands have been making the dangerous sea crossing from north Africa, usually from Libya to Crete. Others have made the far shorter but often equally life-threatening crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, often in unseaworthy inflatable dinghies or other small boats. In October, 12 people, including an infant, died when the two boats they were traveling in from Turkey to the islands of Lesbos and Samos capsized. Frontex said that the eastern Mediterranean was the busiest route for migrants attempting to enter the EU in October, although irregular border crossings into the bloc were down by a third so far this year. It is believed that around 31, 800 crossings were recorded in the first three quarters of 2026, a decrease of 15 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.The route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the world’s deadliest migration crossings (AFP/Getty)The corridor from Libya to Crete was the busiest section on the route, ahead of the eastern Aegean islands and the land border with Turkey.On 2 November, seven people died off Spain’s Canary Islands while more than 380 were rescued as migrant boats attempted to cross the rough Atlantic.Two deceased people were found aboard a migrant boat when the coast guard rescued 132 people, around 94 miles off the coast of Lanzarote. During the same journey, five other migrants had died.Another 250 migrants were rescued by coast guard boats off Lanzarote and the island of El Hierro earlier that day.