Twenty migrants die in two shipwrecks off Crete
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on L’essentiel
Twenty migrants died in two boats off Crete, including 12 found on Monday and eight during an operation that began on Saturday. Twenty-eight Sudanese people were also rescued, while the Greek coastguard arrested two people, according to AFP and Greek authorities.
Twelve migrants were found dead on Monday in a boat off Crete, bringing to 20 the number of people who died over two days in two boats south of the Greek island, according to the Greek coastguard cited by AFP. Eighteen survivors were aboard the boat where the 12 bodies were discovered.
In another boat, eight people seeking asylum in the European Union had been found dead during a search and rescue operation that began on Saturday. Twenty-eight people, all Sudanese nationals, had been rescued on Sunday and an initial body found on the boat, but it could not be towed because of strong winds.
On Sunday night into Monday, a coastguard rescue vessel found the boat 10 nautical miles south of Crete, with seven bodies still aboard. According to survivors cited by the Greek authorities, the migrants had left Libya on 3 or 4 November. Two Sudanese men, aged 28 and 16, were arrested after being identified by other migrants as the suspected smugglers, according to the coastguard.
Autopsies are to determine the causes of death of the 12 people found on Monday, who appear to have spent several days at sea, according to Greek authorities. Earlier searches for 59 migrants reported missing after another shipwreck off Crete had produced no results, according to the coastguard.
