ATHENS: Seventeen men were found dead Saturday after a migrant vessel was discovered drifting off the Greek island of Crete, a coastguard spokeswoman told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;Two survivors in critical condition have been hospitalized,&quot; the spokeswoman added.&nbsp;&quot;Autopsies have to be carried out as the circumstances of the sinking are not known.&quot;&nbsp;Greek state television channel ERT said the bodies had been found inside the vessel, which was taking on water and partly deflated.&nbsp;Manolis Frangoulis, the mayor of Cretan port Ierapetra, told reporters that all the victims were young.&nbsp;&quot;The vessel the migrants were on was deflated on two sides, which forced the passengers into a reduced space,&quot; he added.&nbsp;Coroners are looking at the possibility that the migrants died of dehydration, ERT reported.&nbsp;The vessel was found 26 nautical miles (48 kilometres) southwest of Crete, said Greek officials.&nbsp;A Turkish cargo ship spotted it and alerted the authorities, Greek news agency Ana reported.&nbsp;Two coastguard vessels, and another from the EU&#39;s border agency Frontex, travelled to the scene, as did a Frontex aircraft and Super Puma helicopter, said the coastguard.&nbsp;They added that the two survivors had said their vessel had become unstable due to bad weather, and that they had had no way to cover up, eat, or drink.&nbsp;Migrants have, for the past year, turned their attention to the Greek island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a way of reaching European Union territory from Libya in North Africa.&nbsp;The UN&#39;s refugee agency, UNHCR, says more than 16,770 people seeking asylum in the EU have arrived there since the start of the year.&nbsp;In July, Greece&#39;s conservative government led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis suspended asylum hearings for migrants, particularly targeting those arriving on Crete from Libya.&nbsp;Migration Minister Thanos Plevris, a former member of the Greek far-right party LAOS, posted on X at the time that Greece was taking &quot;immediate actions to counter the invasion from North Africa.&quot;&nbsp;Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

Europe

Seventeen migrants died, likely due to dehydration, while two survived after their vessel sank off Crete, possibly due to bad weather. Crete remains a key route for migrants crossing from Libya to the EU.

Articles tagged with "Greek island of Crete"

17 found dead in migrant vessel off Crete: coastguard