12 bodies found on migrant boat south of Crete, Greek coast guard says

Twelve bodies were found aboard a migrant boat south of the Greek island of Crete, and 18 people from the same vessel were rescued, according to the Greek coast guard. Ynet, the Israeli news site, carried the discovery of the 12 bodies as a breaking alert on Sunday morning, Israel time.

The find was one of two separate incidents over the weekend. The Times of Israel, citing Greek authorities, reported that 20 people in total died while trying to reach Crete: eight on one boat and 12 on the other. The coast guard said some 40 people were rescued across both boats.

The other boat: an alarm signal and rough seas

According to the coast guard account reported by The Times of Israel, the first of the two incidents began late on Saturday, when a boat sent out an alarm signal. Maritime police mounted an emergency rescue operation, and the coast guard said strong winds had made conditions at sea difficult.

A different boat that happened to be sailing in the area picked up around 28 survivors and one body. Greek authorities said on Sunday that all of those people were Sudanese nationals. They were moved onto a police vessel and brought to Crete. Later that night, the coast guard located the boat the group had been travelling on and found seven more bodies aboard, which accounts for the eight deaths attributed to that vessel.

The boat carrying the 12 bodies was described as a separate case. The coast guard said it was found south of the island and that 18 people on board were rescued. Neither report gives the nationalities of the people on that boat, or says where either vessel had set out from.

Where Crete is, and why migrants head there

Crete is a large Greek island in the south of the country, in the Mediterranean Sea. Greek authorities, as quoted by The Times of Israel, describe it as having become a main destination for migrants trying to get into the European Union. Because Greece is an EU member state, arriving on one of its islands puts migrants on EU territory.

The Times of Israel illustrated its report with an earlier photograph, dated August 19, 2025, of migrants who had recently landed and were being kept under guard in a makeshift shelter at Agia, a village close to the city of Chania on Crete. The image indicates that arrivals on the island, and the facilities set up to hold new arrivals, were already a feature of the situation before this weekend's deaths.

How the reports were made

Both accounts rest on the Greek coast guard and on statements from Greek authorities. Neither Israeli outlet reported from the scene. Ynet's item was a short headline alert on its Telegram channel, written in Hebrew, which stated that 12 bodies had been located on a migrant boat south of Crete and pointed readers to a fuller story on its website. The Times of Israel item was an entry in its live news blog, in English, and gave the fuller picture of both incidents, including the survivor figures and the account of the rescue operation.

The two reports agree on the central fact of 12 bodies found on a boat south of Crete. Ynet's alert mentions only that boat; it does not refer to the second incident or to the overall toll of 20.

A note on the figures

The numbers released so far are approximate in places. The coast guard put the rescued at some 40 people across both boats, while the itemised figures it gave were around 28 survivors in the first incident and 18 in the second. The reports do not reconcile these, and the word "around" attached to the first figure suggests the counts were still being finalised. The death toll of 20 was given as a firm figure, made up of eight on one boat and 12 on the other.

What the reports do not say

• Neither report says where the boats departed from, how long they had been at sea, or how the 12 people on the second boat died.
• The nationalities of the people on the boat with 12 bodies are not given; only the survivors and body from the first boat were identified as Sudanese.
• There is no information on the condition of the survivors, where they are being held, or whether any of them needed hospital treatment.
• No reaction from the Greek government or EU bodies has been reported, and neither report says whether any investigation has been opened.