Twelve migrants were found dead inside a small boat drifting south of Crete, while rescue teams recovered 105 survivors across three separate operations in the area, authorities reported.
The tragic discovery occurred roughly 15 nautical miles southwest of Kaloi Limenes. A container ship sailing under the Moroccan flag first spotted the distressed vessel.
A Coast Guard patrol boat rushed to the scene to pick up 18 survivors from the disabled craft. Crew members also pulled 12 bodies from the boat.
European border agency aircraft spotted two additional migrant boats during separate patrols in the same southern waters. A Frontex aerial asset located a vessel carrying about 47 people 30 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes, while a drone spotted another boat with roughly 40 individuals 31 nautical miles southeast of the area.
Frontex vessels picked up the passengers from both boats and transported them to Kaloi Limenes. In total, the three operations resulted in 105 people rescued and 12 dead.
More than 1,500 migrants landed across Crete and Gavdos within a single three-day window earlier in the month. Migration officials have linked the rising maritime traffic to deteriorating stability and enforcement along the Libyan coastline.
Authorities are preparing temporary accommodation structures in regions including Athanatoi near Heraklion to handle the arrivals.
Search operations were conducted for 59 missing individuals following a potential shipwreck near the islet of Chrysi off Ierapetra. Separately, a boat struck rocks near Trypiti on Gavdos, leaving 59 people stranded for two days before a Coast Guard vessel reached the area and brought the people to the port of Karave.
The party Nea Aristera issued a statement condemning current migration policies and demanding properly staffed public reception structures, unobstructed access to asylum procedures, and safe legal routes. The Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum, Sevi Voloudaki, commented on the surge, attributing the rising arrivals in part to limited cooperation from Libyan authorities and leaving open the possibility of stricter measures, including the potential suspension of asylum applications.