12 migrants found dead on boat off Crete; 18 rescued

Greece's coast guard recovered 12 bodies early Monday from a boat carrying migrants south of the island of Crete, while a passing cargo ship rescued 18 people from the same boat, officials said.

The incident took place about 15 nautical miles from the port of Kaloi Limenes; a Moroccan-flagged cargo ship first spotted the boat. In two further separate incidents off Crete the coast guard rescued dozens more people, and around 105 people survived across the three rescue operations, officials said.

The nationalities of the dead and where the boat set out from have not been announced so far. Survivors were being given medical checks and temporary shelter on the island while authorities worked to establish how long the boat had been at sea.

Sea journeys by migrants from North Africa towards Europe across the Mediterranean are highly dangerous, with thousands of deaths recorded over past years. The area around Crete has recently been emerging as a new route for such journeys, as tighter patrols along older paths push smugglers toward longer and riskier crossings.