“The coast guard of Greece discovered the bodies of 17 migrants near the island of Crete. Two more people were rescued from the half-sunken boat.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: The New York Times
Details: According to Greek authorities, the disaster was reported by a Turkish cargo ship that spotted a half-submerged boat about 30 nautical miles off the southwest coast of Crete.
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After receiving the signal, the search and rescue operation involved two coast guard vessels, a rescue helicopter, a European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) vessel and aircraft, as well as three nearby civilian vessels.
When rescuers arrived at the scene, they found that most of the migrants had died. The operation to recover the bodies was completed on Saturday evening.
The disaster comes amid a tightening of Greece’s migration crackdown, with the government freezing asylum applications in the summer due to a surge in arrivals from Libya. Then in September, a law was passed that provides prison terms for asylum seekers who remain in the country after their applications are rejected.
Greek Migration Minister Thanos Pleuris said that after decisive measures, the number of migrants arriving on the island from Libya has decreased by almost 50%. However, in recent days, this indicator has started to grow.
In terms of the number of victims, Saturday’s tragedy has been compared to the sinking of the fishing trawler Adriana in June 2023, which killed hundreds of people – the worst maritime disaster in modern Greek history.
The publication notes that this disaster has become the largest in terms of the number of victims since the sinking of the fishing trawler Adriana off the southern coast of Greece in June 2023, when at least 600 people died.