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 Saturday.
The coastguard late Friday 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 told AFP 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.
A coastguard spokesman told AFP that the craft had endured "unfavorable 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 Organization 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.
Those proposals have been criticized by rights groups as inhumane.
