Two search and rescue operations for foreigners were carried out in the last hours in the sea area south of Crete, coordinated by the Unified Coordination Center for Search and Rescue (EKΣEΔ), according to authorities. In the first operation at dawn, 94 foreigners traveling on a boat were located and rescued in the sea area 14 nautical miles southwest of Kaloi Limenes. A floating vessel of the Coast Guard participated in the first operation, with the assistance of a Liberia-flagged tanker, and an unmanned aircraft (drone) from Frontex was used. The rescued were transported safely to the port of Agia Galini.
In a second operation carried out yesterday afternoon, 35 and approximately 68 foreigners were located and rescued, who were traveling on two boats in the sea area south of Gavdos. A rescue vessel, a floating vessel of the Coast Guard, an aerial asset from Frontex, and three passing ships participated in the second operation. The foreigners were transported by a floating vessel of the Coast Guard to the port of Chora Sfakion.
Another rescue operation is underway in a sea area south of Crete, after the detection of a vessel carrying approximately 100 people. According to the Coast Guard, the vessel was located 50 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes, and at this time the people on board are being transported by a Coast Guard patrol vessel to Kaloi Limenes. A Liberia-flagged tanker is assisting in the operation. Search operations continued on Tuesday despite strong winds in the area, according to reports.
Nearly half of the rescued migrants were rescued on Monday off the island of Crete, according to sources. The rescued migrants were traveling on at least three makeshift vessels, sources said. The migrants are being held by Cretan police and will be transferred to reception centres on the Greek mainland, according to authorities.
Crete has become the main gateway for asylum seekers arriving mainly from Tobruk in eastern Libya, according to migration analysts. At the end of March, 22 people died while adrift in the Mediterranean after leaving from Libya and their bodies were thrown overboard, according to survivors rescued off Crete.
According to data from the International Organisation for Migration, 559 people died in the Mediterranean between January and February, compared with 287 for the same period last year. In March, the European Parliament endorsed a major tightening of the bloc’s migration policy, approving the concept of 'return hubs' designed to send migrants to non-EU third countries. Greece's conservative government strongly supports moves by the European Union to crack down on illegal migration, including the setting up of 'return hubs' outside the bloc to house failed asylum seekers, according to government statements.
Those proposals have been criticised by rights groups as inhumane. Due to the increase in migrant arrivals in Crete during the summer tourist season last year, Greece suspended the asylum application procedure for three months, drawing criticism from the UN and rights bodies. Tighter EU borders and migration deals with African countries have failed to reduce the number of departures from Africa, but merely temporarily diverted irregular routes, according to a report by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The ICMPD analysed the major mobility trends in Sub-Saharan Africa, revealing that intensified controls do not necessarily reduce overall mobility but instead redirect movement towards alternative, often longer and riskier routes.
In recent years, the EU has expanded its migration partnerships with African countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, and Mauritania. These agreements typically involve local authorities strengthening border controls to curb irregular departures toward Europe, while the EU provides financial support and invests in a wide range of development and cooperation projects in return, according to EU documents.