Not less than 17 lifeless in boat capsize off Crete – DW

[ad_1] Not less than 17 individuals attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea had been discovered lifeless Saturday after a ship capsized south of the island of Crete, Greek authorities stated.

"Two survivors in essential situation have been hospitalized," a coastguard spokeswoman advised the AFP information company.

The survivors advised rescue employees that they'd misplaced management of the vessel throughout a extreme storm, leaving these on board stranded within the open sea with out entry to water, meals, or correct shelter.

In response to native studies, the coastguard stated that the migrants had been lifeless for over a day by the point the boat was positioned.

Crete fears extra migrant arrivals might damage tourism To view this video please allow JavaScript, and think about upgrading to an internet browser that supports HTML5 video

What else do we all know concerning the boat capsize?

Greek officers stated the vessel was discovered 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Crete.

The boat was initially detected by a Turkish cargo ship, which alerted the Greek authorities.

"The vessel the migrants had been on was deflated on two sides, which pressured the passengers right into a diminished house," stated Manolis Frangoulis, the mayor of Cretan port metropolis of Ierapetra.

He stated all of the victims had been younger. It's nonetheless unclear the place the migrants got here from.

Greek state tv channel ERT reported that coroners are wanting into whether or not dehydration could have precipitated the deaths.

Greek islands wrestle to handle tourism and migration To view this video please allow JavaScript, and think about upgrading to an internet browser that supports HTML5 video

Rising variety of migrants arriving in Greece from Libya

In the course of the 2015-2016 migrant disaster, Greece served as a key entry level when greater than one million individuals from the Center East and Africa entered Europe.

Though numbers dropped, over the previous 12 months, migrants largely departing from Libya have more and more turned to Crete, Gavdos, and Chrysi, the three Aegean islands closest to Africa.

In July, the conservative authorities of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis suspended asylum hearings for migrants, significantly targeting those arriving in Crete from Libya .