Twenty-one migrants die trying to reach Greece's Crete: authorities

ATHENS -- Twenty-one people have died over the weekend trying to reach Greece's island of Crete, a top destination for migrants headed for the European Union from Africa, authorities said on Monday. Eight bodies were found on one boat and 12 on another, while some 40 people were rescued off both, the Greek coast guard said on Monday. Another body was later found on Monday afternoon.

Maritime police launched an emergency rescue late Saturday after a boat issued an alarm signal, with strong winds making sea conditions difficult, the coast guard said.

Around 28 survivors and one body, all Sudanese nationals, were picked up by another boat sailing nearby, then transferred to a police vessel and taken to Crete, authorities had said on Sunday.

Two Sudanese citizens, one of them 16, were arrested after being identified by the survivors as suspected people-smugglers, the authorities said. During the night from Sunday to Monday, the coast guard found their boat, with seven additional bodies on board, it said.

In a separate incident, 12 bodies were found on a boat south of the island on Monday, while 18 people were rescued, the coast guard said.

In all, the Greek coast guard and the EU's Frontex border agency rescued a total of 105 on Monday, according to the port authorities. Crete has become one of the main entry points into the European Union for migrants departing from Libya and attempting the dangerous crossing to Greece.

Many of the attempted crossings turn deadly when the vessels sink or run into trouble.

According to the United Nations refugee agency, more than 37,000 migrants have arrived in Greece in 2026 so far.

Over 22,000 of those people landed on Crete, the country's largest island. In response to that influx, the government has announced plans to open a temporary housing complex near Heraklion, the island's largest city.