At least 22 migrants die off Greece after 6 days at sea

At least 22 migrants died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat, rekindling attention on the risks people take to cross to Europe despite tighter restrictions.

Citing survivors’ accounts and a statement from the coastguard, 22 people died and their bodies were thrown into the sea.

Two survivors were taken to hospital in Heraklion on Crete, the coastguard said.

Based on survivor statements, the coastguard said the boat left Tobruk, a port city in eastern Libya, on March 21 bound for Greece, the gateway for many migrants chasing asylum in the European Union.

“During the journey, the passengers lost their bearings and remained at sea for six days without food or water,” the coastguard said.

The bodies of those who died “were thrown into the sea on the orders of one of the smugglers”, it added.

Greek authorities arrested two South Sudanese men, aged 19 and 22, believed to be the people smugglers.

Meanwhile, the Greek coastguard said 26 people, including a woman and a minor, were rescued by a Frontex European Union Agency vessel off the island of Crete.

Thousands of people attempt the perilous crossing from Libya to Europe over the Mediterranean each year.

Libya has become a transit route for people fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe since the fall in 2011 of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 16,770 people seeking asylum in Europe arrived in Crete in 2025. At least 107 people have died or gone missing in Greek waters during the same period.

Faced with the surge in arrivals, the Greek government suspended the processing of asylum applications for three months in mid-2025, particularly for those arriving from Libya.

Still, many persist in taking the dangerous journey.

On February 9, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported some 53 migrants, including ⁠two babies, were dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Zuwara city in Libya.

In January, the IOM said at least 375 migrants were reported dead or missing because of extreme weather, with hundreds more deaths believed unrecorded.