Death toll from migrant boat found with bodies on board south of Greece increases to 14

Frontex, foreground, and Greek coast guard vessels take part in a search and rescue operation, after the capsizing of a boat carrying migrants, off the coast on the northeastern Aegean Sea island of Lesbos, Greece, on April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas, File)

ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities recovered 13 bodies from a boat carrying migrants found sailing south of Greece’s island of Crete early Monday, while one of the 18 other people rescued from the same vessel was later confirmed dead at a health center in Crete, the coast guard said.

There was no immediate information available on the identities or nationalities of those on board or what had caused the deaths of the 14 people.

Separately, the coast guard said that more than 180 other people were found on three other boats heading across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Crete on Monday morning, the latest in what has been a steady number of boats traveling from Libya to Greece. The crossing has become one of the main migrant routes to Europe.

The boat with casualties on board was found about 15 nautical miles (about 28 kilometers or 18 miles) south of the southern Greek island of Crete early Monday. The coast guard initially said it had recovered 12 bodies from the vessel, while a passing Morocco-flagged cargo ship had rescued the other 18 people on board. All were transported to Crete, it said.

The coast guard later revised the number of bodies recovered to 13. It said that four of the 18 people rescued were transported to local health centers in Crete, including one who was already unconscious when an ambulance arrived. The health center later confirmed that that person had died, the coast guard said.

Another three boats — one carrying about 47 people, another with about 40 people on board and a third with around 100 people on board — were also found sailing south of Crete. All three were spotted by aircraft or drones from the European Union’s border agency Frontex. Those on board the three boats were due to be taken to Crete, the coast guard said.

Greece is one of the main entry points into the 27-nation EU 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 Turkiye 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 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 Turkiye.

Elena Becatoros, The Associated Press