14 Egyptians dead, 13 missing after migrant boat capsizes off Greek island

ATHENS - 17 December 2025: 14 Egyptians have died and 13 others are missing after a boat carrying irregular migrants capsized off the Greek island of Crete, Egyptian authorities said.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Egyptian Embassy in Athens said the incident involved 27 young people from Egypt, in addition to five migrants of other nationalities.

The embassy published the name of the victims on its Facebook page.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday confirmed the death toll, saying the boat was heading from "a neighboring country" to Greece, carrying 34 migrants from various countries.

The ministry said Egypt is coordinating with Greek authorities to complete legal procedures and ensure the swift repatriation of the bodies of the deceased.

The Egyptian embassy has also contacted the victims’ families to arrange the repatriation of the bodies.

On 8 December, the Greek coastguard said it had recovered at least 17 bodies from a partially deflated boat, revising an earlier count of 18 fatalities announced two days earlier following the incident.

Only two survivors have been reported so far, both Egyptian nationals, who were taken to a hospital on Crete.

The survivors told authorities that the boat was carrying 34 people from Egypt, South Sudan and Sudan when it departed Tobruk, Libya, on the night of December 1.

They said the vessel developed engine trouble the following day.

Egypt’s foreign ministry renewed its warning against illegal migration, urging citizens not to fall prey to smuggling networks and to pursue lawful channels of travel to avoid such tragedies.

The ministry expressed its condolences to the families of those who died.