Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Greece, Claiming 5 lives

At least five migrants drowned after a wooden boat carrying many Pakistanis capsized off Gavdos, Greece, on Saturday, Dawn reported. The coastguard reported that 39 men, primarily from Pakistan, were rescued by nearby cargo vessels and transferred to Crete. The number of missing individuals remains unconfirmed as search operations continue, involving coastguard boats, merchant vessels, an Italian frigate, and naval aircraft.

In separate incidents on the same day, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker saved another 88 migrants 28 nautical miles from the island. Officials believe the boats departed together from Libya.

Greece has seen a rise in migrant boat incidents and shipwrecks, particularly off Crete and Gavdos, which are isolated in the central Mediterranean. In 2023, a tragic capsizing near Pylos resulted in hundreds of drownings, marking one of the deadliest disasters in the Mediterranean, with at least 209 Pakistanis among the victims.