Rescuers are still searching for two people missing from a migrant boat that sank near Greece’s southernmost island, according to Greece’s Coast Guard. The boat, carrying 100 migrants, went down in the Mediterranean Sea. One man’s body was recovered, and 97 individuals were rescued by a passing Turkish-flagged cargo ship. The survivors, including 85 men, two women, and 10 minors, were taken to Crete, with one woman hospitalized.
Authorities in Greece have arrested two survivors, aged 26 and 24, on suspicion of being smugglers. The migrants reported they departed from Tobruk in Libya and each paid between 7,000 to 10,000 euros for the journey. The exact cause of the boat’s sinking remains unknown. This incident follows another tragedy earlier in the week when two women and two children lost their lives off the eastern Greek island of Kos after a smuggling boat capsized, with 27 people rescued.
Greece serves as a common entry point into the European Union for individuals escaping conflict and poverty in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Tens of thousands of migrants head to Greek islands, often using smuggling boats from the nearby Turkish coast or attempting the more perilous journey across the Mediterranean from North Africa. By early October, over 42,000 migrants had arrived in Greece, primarily by sea, as per the United Nations refugee agency.
As search and rescue efforts continue in southern Greece, EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to address migration concerns. The bloc aims to deter migrants and asylum seekers amid a rise in support for far-right parties opposed to immigration. The discussions come in the wake of increased scrutiny on how the EU handles migration issues and the need to create a more stringent stance towards irregular migration.