About 20 migrants die on boats off Crete as Greek coast guard rescues dozens more

Greek authorities said on Monday that about 20 migrants died over the weekend on boats trying to reach the island of Crete, while the coast guard rescued dozens more. Reports put the number of bodies found on one boat south of Crete at 12 or 13, and 18 people were rescued from it, all Sudanese. One of those rescued later died at a health center on Crete. Eight bodies were found on a second boat, whose roughly 28 Sudanese survivors had been picked up by a nearby vessel and taken to Crete by police. Maritime police began an emergency rescue late Saturday after a boat sent an alarm signal in strong winds. Two Sudanese citizens, one of them 16, were arrested after survivors identified them as suspected smugglers. Separately, more than 180 people were found on three other boats heading from North Africa to Crete on Monday morning. The coast guard gave no immediate information on the cause of the deaths. Crete is a main EU entry point for crossings from Libya.

Left-leaning CBS News leads with the 13 bodies recovered south of Crete and adds the death of a rescued survivor, the second boat, the arrests of the two Sudanese suspects, and the 180-plus people on other boats. It frames the story as dozens dead and scores rescued on a steady Libya-to-Greece route. The alternative outlets, BBC News and The Hindu, are more focused on casualties. The BBC headline gives thirteen deaths from a sinking, and The Hindu gives a total of 20 with dated timelines, 8 and 12 bodies per boat, and no mention of arrests. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.