At least 22 people die after six days adrift in boat en route to Europe from Libya | Migration
Twenty-two people hoping to reach Europe from North Africa died off the coast of Greece after spending six days at sea in a rubber dinghy, survivors told the Greek coast guard.
The coast guard said on Friday that 26 people, including a woman and a child, were rescued by a European border agency ship off the island of Crete.
The coast guard later told AFP that 21 Bangladeshis, four South Sudanese and one Chadian national survived.
Survivors said the bodies of those killed were thrown into the Mediterranean.
The coast guard said the two survivors were taken to hospital in Heraklion, Crete.
Based on statements from survivors, the coast guard said the boat left Tobruk, a port city in eastern Libya, on March 21. The boat set out for Greece, which is the gateway for many people hoping to seek asylum in the EU.
The coastguard said: “During the journey the passengers lost their bearings and were left at sea for six days without food or water.”
It was stated that the bodies of the dead were “thrown into the sea by the order of one of the smugglers.”
Greek authorities have arrested two South Sudanese men, aged 19 and 22, who are believed to be smugglers.
They are currently under investigation for “illegal entry into the country” and “reckless manslaughter”.
The ship carrying the group was 53 nautical miles south of Ierapetra, a town in southern Crete.
A coast guard spokesman told AFP the ship had endured “adverse meteorological conditions” during its voyage.
This, combined with food and water shortages, “led to 22 people dying of exhaustion”, the spokesman said.
“According to the testimony of the survivors, the bodies of these dead were thrown into the sea on the orders of two arrested merchants.”
The number of deaths trying to reach European territory has more than doubled in the first two months of 2026 compared to last year, EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month.
According to the data of the International Organization for Migration, 559 people lost their lives in the Mediterranean in January and February, while this number was 287 in the same period last year.
In December, 17 people were found dead on a boat that was flooded and partially deflated southwest of Crete.
Greek authorities found only two survivors, stating that 15 more people drowned. Their bodies were never found.
In a bid to halt the crossings, the European Parliament on Thursday approved a major tightening of EU migration policy and approved the concept of “return centres” designed to send migrants to third countries outside the EU.
These proposals were criticized by human rights groups as inhumane.
