One dead, 25 missing after migrant boat sinks off Greece
ATHENS — One person died and about 25 others went missing after a boat carrying illegal migrants partially sank south of the Greek island of Gavdos, near Crete, on Sunday, the Coast Guard said on Monday.
So far, 51 foreign nationals have been picked up by nearby vessels, while one foreign national has been found unconscious, a coastguard spokesman said.
According to survivors, there were 77 people on board when the boat went down, while search efforts continued for the approximately 25 people missing.
Crete and Gavdos, about 320 km from the Libyan coast, have become the main point of entry for asylum seekers in Greece.
In late August, the Greek news agency ANA published figures from the immigration ministry indicating migrant arrivals in Greece fell from about 61,000 in the year to August 2025 to 42,000 in the following 12 months -- a decline of around 31 percent.
Authorities in Europe have tightened their immigration rules over recent years as far-right, anti-immigrant parties have won increasing support.
Greece’s immigration minister Thanos Plevris has pushed a strict policy on arrivals.
Greece has been in discussions with Germany and several other EU countries on setting up “return hubs” outside the bloc for processing migrants’ claims.
