A boat carrying migrants sank near Crete; rescuers found 18 bodies
According to the Greek Coast Guard, on the morning of 6 December, a half-sunken boat carrying migrants was found near the island of Chrisi (near Crete). A Turkish cargo ship was the first to spot it and alerted the rescue services. This was reported by The Public with reference to the NYT.
As a result of the accident, 18 people — adults and children — died, and two more were rescued.
Coast guard units, civilian vessels, aircraft and ships of the EU border control agency Frontex are working at the scene, and a search and rescue operation is ongoing to find other possible victims.
Greece is once again at the centre of a humanitarian tragedy: the country remains one of the main migration routes to Europe, and such accidents are a reminder of the deadly risks of illegal crossings.
