Twenty migrants found dead off the coast of Crete in the space of two days
The Greek coast guard confirmed the death of twelve people in a boat, in addition to eight other victims discovered in the same area.
Quick Look
- Twelve migrants were found dead off the coast of Crete on Monday, bringing the death toll to twenty in the area.
- Eighteen survivors were rescued on the second boat, while operations were hampered by difficult weather conditions.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Rescue operations south of Crete were made extremely perilous by weather conditions and strong winds.
Twelve migrants were found dead on Monday November 9 in their boat off the Greek island of Crete, the Greek coast guard announced. They had reported earlier that eight people had died in another boat. “Eighteen survivors were on the boat” on which there were 12 dead, found south of the southern coast of Crete, said the coastguard press office.
Eight other people seeking asylum in the European Union were found dead on their boat in the same area south of Crete in a search and rescue operation that began on Saturday. It was complicated by very difficult weather conditions, according to these same port authorities.
Nearly 60 people missing since Wednesday
Twenty-eight people, of Sudanese nationality, were rescued and a first body found on this boat, the coast guard announced on Sunday, but the operation to tow the boat "proved to be absolutely impossible and extremely dangerous due to (...) the violent winds", according to the same source. During the night from Sunday to Monday, “a coastguard rescue ship found the boat 10 nautical miles” south of Crete. “Seven bodies were still on board,” they said.
Open Questions
- What is the identity of the victims?
- Where did the boats come from?
