One dead as migrant boat sinks off Greece's Crete island

17/10/2024 5:51

        A man has died and 97 people have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants sank off the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, the Greek state broadcaster ERT has reported.
        Hellenic Coast Guard's vessels and ships are continuing the rescue operation, with survivors telling authorities that two passengers are still missing.
        The migrants' nationalities and point of departure remain unclear.
        Meanwhile, the Hellenic Coast Guard has announced that there are no more people missing after Tuesday's shipwreck off the island of Kos, in which four people lost their lives and 26 were rescued.
        Since 2015, Greece has been one of the key entry points in Southern Europe for irregular flows of refugees and migrants into European Union (EU) member states. Over the past nine years, more than 1 million people have reached Greece's shores, while hundreds have perished at sea.
        The latest data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex shows that the influx to the Eastern Mediterranean front continued to rise this year, increasing by 15 percent in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
        Approximately 45,600 arrivals were recorded in Greek waters from January until October this year. In September this was the busiest route, with the highest number of 6,750 arrivals, compared to 5,600 in the Central Mediterranean.
        The overwhelming majority of new arrivals in Greece in 2024 were Syrians, Afghans and Egyptians.