At least 14 people have died after a boat carrying migrants was discovered near the Greek island of Crete, authorities in Greece said on Monday.
The vessel was located 15 nautical miles, about 18 land miles, south of the island on Monday morning. Greek authorities said 13 bodies were recovered from the boat.
A passing cargo ship flying the Moroccan flag rescued 18 other people from the same vessel. One of those survivors later died, bringing the death toll to 14.
There was no further information about the identities of those who died or the circumstances surrounding their deaths, officials said.
In a separate development on Monday morning, more than 180 people were found on three other boats making the crossing from Libya in North Africa to Crete, the Greek coastguard confirmed. It said everyone on board those three vessels would be taken to Crete.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing war, poverty and persecution in the Middle East, Asia and parts of Africa. Thousands have attempted the dangerous sea journey from Libya to Crete in recent months, while many others travel from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, often in unseaworthy inflatable dinghies or other small boats.
Last month, 12 people, including a child, were killed when two boats travelling from Turkey to the islands of Lesbos and Samos capsized.
Frontex, the EU's border agency, said around 31,800 irregular border crossings were detected on the eastern Mediterranean route in the first three quarters of 2026, making it the busiest route into the bloc. Despite that, the figure represents a fall of 15 percent compared with the same period last year, and detections of irregular crossings into the EU as a whole dropped by almost a third, according to the agency.
