Three Egyptians drowned and 18 more are still unaccounted for after a packed migrant vessel went down near Crete over the weekend, part of a grim pattern that has made the opening weeks of 2026 the deadliest period for Mediterranean crossings in more than ten years.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday that 21 of its nationals were aboard the boat when it sank.
The vessel had been carrying 50 people and had set out from what Cairo described only as “a neighboring country” on February 21, without identifying the departure location.
Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign minister, has instructed the embassy in Athens to stay in close contact with Greek officials to push search operations forward and accelerate arrangements for bringing the bodies home. The ministry also issued a warning to Egyptian citizens against trusting smuggling networks, urging “the utmost caution and vigilance” to protect their own safety.
Greek coast guard and the International Organization for Migration said the boat overturned roughly 20 nautical miles off Kali Limenes, a small port on Crete’s southern edge, early Saturday. Weather was poor — high winds, choppy seas.
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Those who survived told Greek investigators the crossing had begun in Tobruk, a city on Libya’s eastern coast, two days earlier. Libya has become a launching point for migrants trying to reach European shores, with smuggling networks entrenched along its Mediterranean coastline and limited state capacity to interfere.
The IOM estimates at least 606 people died or disappeared on Mediterranean routes during January and February — the highest two-month death toll recorded since the agency started compiling systematic data in 2014.
The reasons aren’t mysterious. Worsening conditions across North Africa and parts of the Middle East are driving more people to attempt the journey. Smuggling operations continue to use vessels that are barely seaworthy. Winter weather makes an already dangerous crossing even more so.
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Greece sits on a major route for migrants leaving Turkey and Libya. Human rights organizations have accused Athens of pushing boats back out to sea, allegations the government has consistently denied.
Egypt hasn’t released names of the dead or missing, nor has it said whether the 18 still unaccounted for are presumed lost or if there’s still hope of finding them alive. Greek coast guard patrols have continued in the area, though the time that’s passed and the sea conditions make survival increasingly unlikely.
Egyptian migration has grown in recent years, fueled by an economy under strain, joblessness that hasn’t eased, and inflation that’s hollowed out household budgets. Many who attempt irregular routes to Europe are chasing work they can’t find at home. Smugglers typically charge thousands of dollars per person for a spot on overcrowded, poorly maintained boats.
Libya’s fractured political landscape has created openings for smuggling networks to operate with minimal disruption. No single authority controls the country, and competing factions show uneven interest in stopping departures.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry didn’t say whether arrests had been made or whether its own authorities were investigating the network behind this particular crossing.
The IOM has argued for years that enforcement alone won’t stop the flow, calling instead for legal migration pathways and coordinated international action to dismantle smuggling operations. The central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy remains one of the world’s most lethal migration corridors. Thousands have drowned over the past decade trying to reach Europe.