Update · 9 Nov 2026, 7:21 PM PKT: Greek authorities said at least 14 people have died after a boat carrying migrants was found near Crete. Earlier figures had put the death toll at at least 21, up from the 13 reported by the coastguard.
Update · 9 Nov 2026, 7:21 PM PKT: The death toll from the boat sinking off Crete has risen to at least 21, up from the 13 the coastguard reported earlier.
The Greek coastguard said it rescued more than 100 people in several operations off southern Crete. Earlier, it had said it rescued 187 people in three incidents off the country's coast on Monday.
At least 13 people have died after a boat carrying migrants went down off the Greek island of Crete, according to the coastguard. Rescuers pulled 18 people from the water, all of them Sudanese nationals, and four survivors were admitted to hospital, one of them a toddler.
Coastguard details rescue and survivors’ condition
Authorities said it was not yet clear what caused the deaths. They believe the vessel had been travelling for days and struggled to reach land because of strong winds.
The boat was first spotted by a Moroccan-flagged container ship roughly 15 nautical miles (28km) off Crete’s coast. One coastguard official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the survivors were “shivering from the cold”.
Crete remains a major route for migrants
Crete is one of several key gateways for people trying to reach Europe from the Middle East and North Africa. So far this year, more than 22,000 of the 86,400 sea arrivals have landed on the island alone.
Separately, the Greek coastguard rescued another 187 people in three incidents off the country’s coast on Monday. UN figures show more than 37,000 migrants have arrived in Greece this year, already surpassing the total for all of 2025.
Government plans to manage new arrivals
The Greek government has announced measures to cope with the influx, including a temporary housing complex near the Cretan capital, Heraklion. Greece was at the centre of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015-16, when nearly a million people arrived on its islands, mostly from Turkey.
Arrivals later dropped as border controls tightened, but crossings from Libya have surged in recent years, particularly among people fleeing conflict in Sudan.
