Shipwreck south of Gavdos: one dead, 25 missing

An inflatable vessel was found half-sunken in the early hours of Monday 14 September 2026, around 02:33, approximately 38 nautical miles south of Gavdos. The vessel was spotted by a Frontex drone aircraft, which was operating in the broader maritime region south of Crete as part of routine maritime border surveillance. According to statements from the rescued persons to the authorities, there were a total of 77 people on board the vessel. Of these, 51 people were rescued, while one person was found unconscious and recorded as deceased. Approximately 25 people remain missing, according to the tally as recorded so far by the competent authorities, who note that this is a provisional figure that may change as the search and rescue operation in the area continues, with the two independent sources agreeing on the basic details of the incident.

Among the 51 rescued, as reported by the survivors themselves to the authorities, 22 people are from Bangladesh, 16 from Egypt, 12 from Sudan and 1 from Eritrea. The search and rescue operation was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) of the Hellenic Coast Guard, with the participation of merchant vessels sailing in the area who answered the call for assistance, aircraft from Frontex and a Hellenic Air Force helicopter, which contributed to the location and retrieval of the people on board from the sea. The region experienced northwesterly winds of approximately 4 Beaufort, according to information released to the public, conditions that hampered search efforts during the initial hours of the operation and affected the coordination of resources in the maritime area around Gavdos, making the process of locating and retrieving survivors more demanding.

Gavdos, the southernmost point of Europe, lies on a route frequently followed by vessels carrying migrants from North Africa to Crete, making the maritime region around the small island a point of heightened risk during the summer and autumn months, when arrivals tend to increase due to milder weather conditions. Shipwrecks such as this burden the local reception structures in Chania, where the rescued were transferred for temporary accommodation in Agia, while mobilizing the local health, first reception and registration mechanisms, which are called upon to respond immediately to such emergency situations with limited human resources. This incident is separate and entirely unrelated to the discovery of 71 men on Trypiti Beach in Gavdos the same morning. The two incidents must not in any way be confused, as they involve different vessels, a different number of people and entirely different developments, although they occurred in the same broader area within the same day.

The search for the missing continued through the afternoon of Monday, with the tally remaining provisional and subject to change as searches progress in the maritime region south of Gavdos. The 51 rescued remained under care at the facilities in Agia, where their details are being recorded and their condition assessed by the competent services, before proceeding with the next procedures provided by law for such cases. Similar incidents have been recorded at other locations in Crete, such as in Ierapetra and in Kaloi Limenes, where the Hellenic Coast Guard has also coordinated rescue operations in recent months, indicating the continuation of migrant flows towards the southern Aegean. Creta Today will update with new details as soon as there are official announcements from the JRCC regarding the progress of the search and the fate of the missing, as the operation remains ongoing.