Greek coast guard reports 12 dead as migrant boats are found south of Crete

Boats found south of Crete

The Greek coast guard said it recovered 12 bodies early on Monday, 9 November 2026, from a boat carrying migrants about 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres) south of Crete. A cargo ship passing the scene rescued 18 people from the same vessel. Two other boats, carrying 47 people and 40 people, were also found sailing south of the island, and the coast guard said all of them were being taken to a port on Crete's southern coast. Details on the identities of the dead and the circumstances of their deaths were not immediately available. The island sits on one of the busiest routes into Europe for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and thousands have made the crossing from North Africa in recent months.

Death toll reports differ

The figures published so far do not agree. Spiegel Online, citing the coast guard, reported at least 12 dead, with bodies recovered from several boats south of Crete. Public broadcaster ERT, as cited by Spiegel Online, counted 12 dead near Kali Limenes plus eight more on another boat and said at least 20 people had died in successive incidents. ORF and La Libre instead reported eight dead on a single boat, with seven bodies still on board when a coast guard rescue ship located it about 10 nautical miles south of Crete overnight into 9 November 2026. Spiegel Online also reported that at least two people had been reported missing after falling into the sea, while other Greek outlets had not initially confirmed the ERT figures.

Rescue operations and the search for missing people

Authorities first received signals of a boat in distress on Friday afternoon, 6 November 2026, according to ERT. On Saturday night, 7 November 2026, a Frontex aircraft located a boat about six nautical miles off the southern coast of Crete, and a Panama-flagged container ship and a tug joined the rescue. The 28 survivors, who identified themselves as Sudanese, were taken to Heraklion, and two of them needed hospital treatment. A coast guard spokesperson described winds of force 5 to 6 on the Beaufort scale, about 40 to 50 kilometres per hour, which made the operation difficult. ERT put the total number rescued across the incidents at 133.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, Greek authorities began searching for 59 migrants reported missing after a shipwreck off the island, based on the account of a 23-year-old Bangladeshi survivor. The coast guard said that search found none of the missing. The incidents of 6 to 9 November were described as the third migrant accident off Crete in four days.

Arrests and the route from Libya

Two Sudanese men were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling after other people on board identified them as smugglers, according to ERT. Spiegel Online reported that charges had been brought against both men. Survivors told authorities they had left the Libyan coast on 3 or 4 November 2026, according to La Libre, and said they were seeking asylum in the European Union, according to ORF. Crete is one of the main entry points into the European Union for migrants, including many Sudanese who depart from Libya. After the 2015 and 2016 migration crisis, when nearly 1 million migrants arrived through the Greek islands, most of them from Turkey, arrivals fell as Athens stepped up patrols at sea and along its borders. Crossings from northeastern Libya via Crete have since increased.