NEWS CENTER – The risks of migrants drowning are increasing with the continuation of irregular migration flows across highly dangerous sea routes, turning journeys in search of safety into recurring tragedies that claim the lives of hundreds annually amid the absence of radical solutions ensuring the safety of those fleeing crises.

Twelve irregular migrants were killed after the Greek authorities recovered their bodies from a boat that was adrift about 15 nautical miles south of the island of Crete today, Monday, 9 November. A passing cargo ship succeeded in rescuing 18 survivors from on board. The authorities have not yet disclosed additional details regarding the identities or nationalities of the deceased.

Simultaneously, the Greek coast guard spotted two other boats in the same area carrying 47 and 40 migrants, and they are being transferred to a port in the south of the island, amid a notable increase in dangerous migration journeys departing from North Africa toward Europe.

Greece is one of the main entry points to the European Union for people fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In recent months, thousands of people have made perilous sea crossings from North Africa to the island of Crete, while others make a much shorter but often equally dangerous journey from the Turkish coast to the nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, often in unseaworthy rubber boats or other small vessels.

In a separate incident, the Senegalese Ministry of Interior announced the death of 21 people and the injury or survival of only one person, in an initial toll of the drowning of a migrant boat off the country's western coast two days ago, while rescue teams continue their efforts to comb the area and support the families of the victims.