Daijiworld Media Network - Athens

Athens, Feb 21: At least five migrants have been confirmed dead and around 20 others remain missing after a wooden boat carrying dozens of people overturned in waters south of Crete early Saturday, Greek authorities said.

The vessel capsized approximately 15 nautical miles off Kala Limena on Crete’s southern coast, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard. Greece’s national broadcaster ERT reported that the accident occurred as one of two commercial ships dispatched by the national search and rescue centre approached the overcrowded boat. When passengers simultaneously shifted to one side while attempting to climb a ladder lowered from the rescue vessel, the wooden craft lost balance and overturned.

A Panamanian-flagged cargo ship rescued 20 survivors from the sea. Recovery efforts by the Hellenic Coast Guard and the EU’s border agency Frontex led to the retrieval of three bodies initially, with two more later discovered in surrounding waters. Survivors indicated that about 50 people had been aboard, raising concerns that the casualty count may rise further.

Search and rescue operations are continuing, involving coast guard patrol boats, commercial vessels in the area, a helicopter and a military aircraft.

Earlier this month, authorities also recovered the bodies of two young men near the Evros River, which forms part of the border between Greece and Turkey. The men, believed to be around 20 and 35 years old, were found near Didymoteicho and were suspected to have died from hypothermia after crossing the river in freezing conditions.

Since 2015, Greece has served as a major gateway into the European Union for irregular migrants and refugees, with more than one million arrivals recorded over the past decade. The perilous journeys have claimed hundreds of lives at sea and many more along river crossings.

Data released recently by Frontex showed that irregular migration along the Eastern Mediterranean route fell by 27 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year, with approximately 51,400 arrivals recorded in Greece last year.