Benghazi, November 11 (Darfur24)
At least 22 migrants and refugees have died, and two others remain missing following two separate maritime accidents involving boats that departed from the Libyan coast for the Greek island of Crete between November 7 and 9.
Eyewitnesses, sources and Sudanese nationals in Libya and Greece told Darfur24 that the incidents occurred south of Crete. Dozens of people, including Sudanese nationals, were rescued, while search and rescue operations continued.
In the first incident, a boat carrying Sudanese migrants was located southwest of Kali Limenes, on Crete’s southern coast. A tugboat rescued 28 people and recovered one body.
Survivors said they had departed from the Libyan coast on November 4 and spent several days at sea. During the journey, two people reportedly fell overboard and remain missing.
Strong winds initially prevented the boat from being recovered. It was later located, and seven additional bodies were recovered, bringing the death toll in the incident to eight.
The Greek Coast Guard announced the arrest of two survivors, aged 28 and 16, on suspicion of involvement in migrant smuggling.
In a separate incident, a Moroccan-flagged container ship spotted another migrant boat about 15 nautical miles south of Crete in the early hours of Monday.
Rescuers recovered 13 bodies and saved 18 people, four of whom were taken to hospital, including a young child. One of the injured survivors later died, bringing the death toll in the second incident to 14.
Greek authorities said survivors were suffering from exposure to extreme cold after spending several days at sea in harsh weather conditions. They added that the exact causes of death had not yet been established.
Meanwhile, Greek authorities spotted other migrant boats south of Crete and conducted three separate rescue operations on Monday, saving 187 people.
The total number of people rescued across the five operations, including the two maritime accidents, reached at least 233, marking another deadly episode along the migration route from Libya to Greece.
