Kaloi Limenes: 84 migrants on two boats

Two separate incidents involving boats carrying migrants being spotted occurred early on the morning of Tuesday 25 August 2026 in the sea area south of the Heraklion region. The first boat carried 30 people and the second 54, meaning 84 people in total. Port and police authorities were on standby from the early morning hours to receive and manage the two groups. Cretalive reported at 09:06 that the foreign nationals were expected to reach land around midday, while it was not known which countries they came from or whether women or minors were among them.

Information on how the boats were spotted does not match across all sources. The newspaper “dimokratia” reports that the first sighting was made by a Frontex aerial asset, a detail not confirmed by the other reports and attributed here solely to this one source. There is also a discrepancy over the landing point: IraklioNews and Cretalive place the arrival at Kaloi Limenes, while “dimokratia” writes that the migrants were transferred to the port of Heraklion. No official announcement from the Hellenic Coast Guard on the two incidents was found, so the exact place and time of the landing remain unconfirmed.

The island’s southern coastline has repeatedly been in the spotlight recently. During August, incidents involving large numbers of people within a few hours were recorded in Crete, such as when 142 migrants were located in successive operations, while 131 people arrived on Gavdos in two overnight operations. For the local communities of the Messara plain and the Municipality of Faistos, as well as for the services called upon to respond, the recurrence of such arrivals means committing staff and resources at a time that coincides with the peak of the tourist season. Reception facilities are located off the island, which turns every arrival into a transport operation as well.

The procedure that follows is standardised: recording, identification and health checks, followed by transfer to reception facilities on the Greek mainland. No timetable for the transfer has been announced, and it is also not known whether the two boats set off from the same point or are connected to each other. No information has been made public either on the health of those on board or on any arrests. Until an official update comes from the Coast Guard, the only details consistently repeated across all three sources are the total number of people and the fact that these are two distinct incidents on the same day. It is also not clarified whether either case required towing by Coast Guard vessels or whether the boats reached the coast under their own power, a point none of the three sources clarifies.