ATHENS: Twenty-two migrants hoping to reach Europe from North Africa have died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat, survivors told the Greek coastguard on Saturday.

The coastguard said 26 people, including a woman and a minor, were rescued by a Euro­pean border agency vessel off the island of Crete.

The coastguard later said that 21 Bangladeshis, four South Sudanese and a Chadian citizen had emer­ged from the ordeal alive.

Survivors said the bodies of those who had died were thrown into the Mediterranean sea on the orders of one of the people smugglers aboard the ship.

Two survivors were tak­en to hospital in Heraklion on Crete, the coastguard said.

Based on survivor statements, the coastguard said the boat had left Tobruk, a port city in eastern Libya, on March 21, bound for Greece, the ga­­teway for many migrants hoping for asylum in the European Union.

“During the journey, the passengers lost their bearings and rem­a­­ined at sea for six days without fo­­od or water,” the coastguard stated.

The bodies of those who died “were thrown into the sea on the orders of one of the smugglers”, it added. The Greek authorities have arre­sted two South Sudanese men, aged 19 and 22, believed to be the smugglers.

They are now under investigation for “illegal entry into the cou­ntry” and “negligent homicide”.

The vessel carrying the group was 53 nautical miles south of Iera­petra, a town on southern Crete.

Bad weather

A coastguard spokesman said that the craft had endured “unfavourable meteorological conditions” during their odyssey.

That, coupled with a shortage of food and water, had “led to the deaths through exhaustion of 22 people,” the spokesman said.

“The bodies of these dead people were thrown into the sea on the orders of the two traffickers, who have been arrested, according to testimony by survivors,” he added.

The number of migrants who have died trying to reach EU soil more than doubled in the first two months of 2026, compared with last year, the EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month.

“These tragedies highlight once more the urgency to intensify the work with partner countries along the migratory routes and redouble efforts in the fight against migrant smugglers, who are the ones resp­onsible for these tragedies,” an EU commission spokesperson said on Saturday.

According to data from the International Organi­sation for Migration, 559 people died in the Mediterranean during January and February, compared with 287 for the same period last year.

In December, 17 mig­ra­nts were found dead inside their boat, which was taking on water and had partially deflated, to the southwest of Crete.

Greek authorities found only two survivors, stating that a further 15 people had drowned. Their bodies were never recovered.

In a bid to stem the crossings, the European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a major tightening of EU migration policy and approved the concept of “return hubs”, designed to send migrants to non-EU third countries.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2026