Greek authorities find 12 bodies in a boat carrying migrants south of Crete; 18 people are rescued

Greek authorities recovered 12 bodies from a boat carrying migrants found sailing south of Greece's island of Crete early Monday, while a passing Moroccan-flagged cargo ship rescued 18 people from the same vessel, the coast guard said.

No further information was immediately available on the identities of the 12 people who died, or the circumstances of their deaths. Greece’s coast guard said the boat they were traveling in was found about 15 nautical miles — about 28 kilometers or 18 miles — south of the southern Mediterranean island of Crete on Monday morning.

Another two boats, one carrying about 47 people and another with about 40 people on board, were also found sailing south of Crete. The first was spotted by an aircraft from the European Union's border agency Frontex, while the second was found by a Frontex drone, the coast guard said.

The agency added that those on board both boats were rescued by Frontex and were being taken to a port on the southern coast of Crete.

Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In recent months, thousands have been making the perilous sea crossing from north Africa, usually from Libya to Crete. Others make the far shorter but often equally dangerous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, often in unseaworthy inflatable dinghies or other small boats.

Last month, 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 in October that the eastern Mediterranean was the busiest route for migrants attempting to enter the 27-nation EU, although irregular border crossings into the bloc were down by a third so far this year.

The agency said that around 31, 800 crossings were recorded in the first three quarters of 2026, a fall of 15% compared with the same period last year. 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.