A serious tragedy has been recorded in the waters south of the island of Crete, where 12 migrants were found dead on board a dinghy, about 15 nautical miles south-southwest of Kaloi Limenes.
According to preliminary information, the dinghy was spotted by a Moroccan-flagged cargo ship sailing in the area. After the alert, a search and rescue operation was immediately launched, under the coordination of the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center.
During the operation, 18 migrants were rescued, while 12 bodies were recovered from the dinghy. The survivors were transferred to a Greek Coast Guard vessel, which headed towards the port of Agia Galini.
Meanwhile, two other operations to identify and rescue migrants were conducted in the same maritime area.
In the first operation, a Frontex aircraft detected a dinghy with around 47 people on board, approximately 30 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes. The migrants were rescued by a Frontex vessel and will be transported to the port of Kaloi Limenes.
In the second operation, a Frontex drone identified another dinghy with around 40 migrants, about 31 nautical miles southeast of Kaloi Limenes. These people were also taken on board by a European force ship.
According to the preliminary balance, a total of 117 migrants have been identified in the three operations conducted south of Crete. Of these, 105 people have been rescued, while 12 have been found dead.
Greek authorities are continuing operations and are working to determine the circumstances of the tragedy.
