Capsizings cause the deaths of 12 migrants off Greek islands

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A dozen migrants died in separate speedboat capsizings off the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos, Greece's coast guard said Monday. An infant was among the dead.

Six people died when a speedboat ferrying Syrian and Palestinian migrants struck the port side of a Greek coast guard vessel with its bow and capsized south of Lesbos late Sunday, a coast guard spokesperson told The Associated Press on customary condition of anonymity.

Four men, one woman and an infant were among the dead. Another eight people, including an individual who has been detained as the suspected people smuggler, were rescued.

Another speedboat capsized north of the island of Samos at around dawn on Monday, resulting in the death of five men and one woman. About 15 people have been rescued so far, including an Iranian man suspected of being a people smuggler.

The spokesperson said that a coast guard vessel and a helicopter were still in the area looking for another three missing passengers.

Greece's Maritime Affairs Minister Vasilis Kikilias expressed his “sorrow and rage” at the Lesbos capsizing in a post on X, calling the deaths of six people the “criminal act of modern-day slave traders.”

“Our position is clear: zero tolerance for people smugglers,” Kikilias said.

Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats.

The EU's border control agency Frontex reported Monday that although irregular border crossings into the 27-nation member bloc were down by a third so far this year, the eastern Mediterranean was the busiest route.

The agency said that around 31, 800 crossings were recorded in the first three quarters of 2026, a fall of 15% compared with the same period last year. The corridor from Libya to Crete was the busiest section on the route, ahead of the eastern Aegean islands and the land border with Turkey, with Cyprus accounting for a small share.