At least one dead, 25 missing after boat carrying migrants sinks off Greece

At slightest 51 radical rescued arsenic hunt cognition continues disconnected the land of Gavnos adjacent Crete.

One idiosyncratic has died, 25 are missing and 51 radical person been rescued aft a vessel carrying migrants sank disconnected a Greek land adjacent Crete, according to the country’s coastguard.

“Fifty-one were picked up by 2 boats that were successful the area,” a coastguard spokesperson said connected Monday.

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He said survivors had reported that 77 radical were connected committee erstwhile the vessel went down adjacent the land of Gavdos.

Search and rescue efforts were ongoing, with 4 ships, boats, Frontex craft and a coastguard chopper operating successful the area, Greece’s nationalist broadcaster ERT News reported.

The 51 rescued radical were owed to beryllium brought to Crete, “where the prescribed procedures volition beryllium followed”, ERT reported.

After arriving successful Crete, undocumented migrants mostly look contiguous apprehension and impermanent confinement earlier being transferred to closed detention camps connected the Greek mainland. Under Greek law, individuals are taxable to extended administrative detention, terrible penalties and fast-track deportation.

Strong winds blowing done the country person been hampering the hunt operation, ERT said.

Crete and Gavdos, astir 320km (200 miles) from the Libyan coast, person go the main constituent of introduction for asylum seekers successful Greece.

In precocious August, Greece’s ANA quality bureau published figures from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum that indicated that migrant arrivals successful the state fell from astir 61,000 successful the twelvemonth to August 2025 to 42,000 successful the pursuing 12 months – a diminution of astir 31 percent.

Greece’s blimpish authorities successful July suspended each asylum claims for migrants arriving by oversea from North Africa for 3 months, a determination it argued helped deter crossings.

The prohibition passed successful parliament amid a surge successful asylum seekers reaching Crete and aft talks with Libya’s Benghazi-based authorities to stem the travel were cancelled successful July.

The authorities remains astatine likelihood with determination authorities successful Crete implicit a program to physique a imperishable transit installation connected the island. It is preparing draught authorities that would mandate imprisonment for radical whose asylum claims are denied and necessitate ankle monitors during a 30-day compliance play earlier deportation.

Authorities successful Europe person tightened their migration rules implicit caller years arsenic far-right, anti-immigrant governmental parties person won expanding enactment passim the continent.

Greece has been successful discussions with Germany and respective different European Union countries connected setting up “return hubs” extracurricular the bloc for processing migrants’ claims.