ATHENS, Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 17 people attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea were found dead Saturday after a boat capsized south of the island of Crete, Greek authorities said.
“Two survivors in critical condition have been hospitalized,” a coastguard spokeswoman said.
The survivors told rescue workers that they had lost control of the vessel during a severe storm, leaving those on board stranded in the open sea without access to water, food, or proper shelter.
According to local reports, the coastguard said that the migrants had been dead for over a day by the time the boat was located.
Greek officials said the vessel was found 48 kilometers southwest of Crete.
The boat was initially detected by a Turkish cargo ship, which alerted the Greek authorities.
“The vessel the migrants were on was deflated on two sides, which forced the passengers into a reduced space,” said Manolis Frangoulis, the mayor of Cretan port city of Ierapetra.
He said all the victims had been young. It is still unclear where the migrants came from.
Greek state television channel ERT reported that coroners are looking into whether dehydration may have caused the deaths.
During the 2015-2016 migrant crisis, Greece served as a key entry point when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa entered Europe.
Although numbers dropped, over the past year, migrants largely departing from Libya have increasingly turned to Crete, Gavdos, and Chrysi, the three Aegean islands closest to Africa.
In July, the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis suspended asylum hearings for migrants, particularly targeting those arriving in Crete from Libya. — NNN-AGENCIES