At least five migrants have drowned after a wooden boat capsized off the southern Greek island of Gavdos, the coastguard reported on Saturday. Rescue operations are ongoing, with witnesses indicating that many individuals remain missing.
So far, 39 men, primarily from Pakistan, have been rescued by nearby cargo vessels and transferred to Crete, the coastguard confirmed. The total number of missing migrants has yet to be determined.
The search effort, which began Friday night, involves coastguard boats, merchant vessels, an Italian frigate, and naval aircraft. In separate incidents on Saturday, a Malta-flagged cargo ship rescued 47 migrants 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker saved 88 migrants 28 nautical miles from the same area.
Initial investigations suggest the boats departed together from Libya. The waters near Crete and Gavdos, isolated in the central Mediterranean, have seen a rise in migrant boat incidents and shipwrecks over the past year.
This tragedy follows a deadly 2023 disaster off Pylos, where hundreds of migrants perished in one of the Mediterranean’s worst shipwrecks. Greece remains a key transit point for migrants and refugees attempting to reach the European Union, with perilous sea journeys continuing despite the risks.
