Μake us preferred on Google The number of foreign nationals killed in two tragedies south of Crete has risen to 21, while 133 people have been rescued. Severe weather conditions prevented the timely recovery of seven bodies from a boat located yesterday (November 8), while one body had been recovered during the initial operation and two more people remain missing. Another 13 bodies were found in a boat this morning in a separate incident.
When the Bodies Were Found
According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, the seven bodies were found in the early hours of Monday, November 9, inside a boat in the sea area 10 nautical miles west-southwest of Kaloi Limenes in Crete, bringing the death toll from that incident to eight, as one more body had been recovered during the initial rescue operation. The particularly severe weather conditions had not allowed the operation to be completed at the time, despite information that there might be more dead on board.
According to the Coast Guard, the boat was located by a Coast Guard lifeboat and towed to the port of Kaloi Limenes with the help of the fishing vessel “Archangelos.” The bodies were received to be transferred to the Forensic Service of the University General Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI).
Twenty-eight Sudanese nationals had been rescued from the same boat in an operation that began yesterday.
According to the survivors’ accounts, two more people had fallen into the sea and have been missing since.
Of the 28 survivors, two were taken by EKAB ambulance to PAGNI, while the other 26 were transferred to the port of Heraklion.
Through the Eyes of the Coast Guard
The figures show the scale of the crisis, but not the conditions on board the boats or the scenes Coast Guard officers faced during the search and rescue operations.
Speaking to Cretalive, Giannis Sarantidis, secretary general of the Eastern Crete Coast Guard Personnel Union, described the tragic scenes crews encountered when they came across the bodies of people who had died during the journey.
The migrants had reportedly been at sea for about five days in extremely harsh conditions. During the journey, they ran out of fuel, food and drinking water, leaving those on board stranded at sea without the basic means to survive. People began to die one after another, while the survivors remained in the boat, at the mercy of the sea, alongside their dead fellow passengers.
For Coast Guard officers, such scenes are unfortunately not new. In recent years, they have repeatedly been called on to handle similar situations, with operations that involve not only locating and rescuing people but also recovering bodies.
These incidents take a psychological toll on Coast Guard personnel, who must keep carrying out their duties even after witnessing particularly harrowing scenes. “We act as each other’s psychologists,” Sarantidis said, describing how officers try to share the emotional burden among themselves.
At the same time, rising migrant flows along Crete’s southern coast have brought renewed attention to the operational needs of the Coast Guard. Sarantidis pointed to the officers’ long-standing demand for more personnel and equipment so they can keep up with growing demands.
Testimonies and Arrests
Meanwhile, the survivors’ testimonies revealed details about the conditions of the journey and the actions of the alleged smugglers.
According to what they told the port authorities, they had begun their journey on November 3 or 4, each paying between 12,000 and 16,000 Libyan dinars to be taken to Greece.
As part of the preliminary investigation being carried out by the Central Port Authority of Heraklion, two Sudanese nationals, aged 28 and 16, were arrested after being identified by the other survivors as their smugglers.
They have been charged with illegal entry into the country, facilitating illegal entry, forming a gang and exposure to danger resulting in death.
A Second Tragedy With 13 Dead
Meanwhile, another tragedy was uncovered in the early hours of Monday in the sea area south of Crete, raising the death toll further.
A boat carrying migrants was spotted by a passing Moroccan-flagged container ship about 15 nautical miles southeast of Kaloi Limenes.
A Coast Guard vessel rushed to the area and picked up 18 survivors and the bodies of 13 people. The vessel headed to the port of Agia Galini, while the circumstances under which the migrants lost their lives are being investigated.
At the same time, in two more operations, about 30 and 31 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes, two boats carrying 47 and 40 foreign nationals respectively were located.
Manned and unmanned Frontex aircraft assisted in locating them, and all 87 people on board were picked up by vessels of the European agency and taken to Kaloi Limenes.
According to the data available so far, the total toll from the successive incidents stands at 21 dead and 133 rescued, while two people from the first incident remain missing.
