At Least 5 Migrants Drown Off Greek Island as Rescue Efforts Continue
At least five migrants drowned after their wooden boat capsized off the Greek island of Gavdos, with many more missing as rescue operations continue, the coastguard said on Saturday.
A total of 39 men, most from Pakistan, have been rescued by cargo vessels sailing in the area and have been transferred to the island of Crete. However, the number of those still missing has not yet been confirmed.
Search efforts are ongoing, with coastguard boats, merchant vessels, an Italian frigate, and naval aircraft involved in the rescue mission. The boats are believed to have set off from Libya, a key departure point for migrant boats heading to Europe.
In separate incidents on Saturday, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a boat 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker rescued 88 migrants 28 nautical miles off the tiny Greek island.
The incident comes amid a surge in refugee arrivals in Greece, with the country having been a key entry point for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in 2015-2016. Recent incidents of migrant boats and shipwrecks off Crete and Gavdos have increased over the past year, including one in 2023 that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of migrants when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters.
