A wooden boat carrying about 100 migrants sank south of Gavdos, Greece, resulting in one death and two missing. Ninety-seven survivors were rescued, primarily from Pakistan and Sudan

At least one man has died, and two individuals are missing after a wooden boat carrying approximately 100 migrants sank on Wednesday south of the small southern Greek island of Gavdos, according to the Greek coast guard.

Authorities reported that a total of 97 individuals were rescued by a passing cargo ship and were being transported to Heraklion, a city on the island of Crete. Among the survivors, there were 50 men from Pakistan, 39 men and two women from Sudan, five men from Bangladesh, and one man from Somalia. The vessel sank about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Gavdos, as stated by the coast guard. Survivors indicated that three men, from Pakistan and Sudan, are currently missing.

While the body of one man has been recovered, search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate the other two missing passengers. The cause of the boat’s sinking has not been immediately determined.

This tragic incident occurred just a day after a separate event, where two women and two children lost their lives off the eastern Greek island of Kos when a smuggling boat, which was crossing from nearby Turkey, capsized. Additionally, another 27 individuals were rescued from that incident.

Greece serves as a popular entry point into the European Union for individuals fleeing conflict and poverty in regions such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Tens of thousands make the perilous journey to Greek islands, typically aboard smuggling boats from the nearby Turkish coast or by undertaking a longer and more hazardous crossing of the Mediterranean from North Africa.

As of early October this year, more than 42,000 migrants were recorded as having arrived in Greece, with the majority—over 36,500—making the journey by sea, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency.

On Tuesday, Greece’s Deputy Minister for Migration, Sofia Voultepsi, issued a warning that the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Africa, in conjunction with the impacts of climate change, will exert persistent long-term pressure on Europe regarding immigration. Voultepsi also pointed out that a significant European Union migration pact, reached earlier this year, still lacks practical implementation. She called for the establishment of a common EU-wide system for managing the deportation of individuals whose asylum claims are denied.

The EU migration pact is scheduled to take effect in mid-2026, following a new round of negotiations involving the bloc’s 27 member states, which are expected to last approximately one year.

Furthermore, Voultepsi expressed concern regarding the increasing number of refugees in Lebanon, which is a direct consequence of ongoing Israeli airstrikes targeting the militant group Hezbollah.

In a related development elsewhere in Europe, an Italian navy ship recently docked at an Albanian port carrying the first group of 16 migrants who had been intercepted in international waters. Their asylum applications will be processed in Albania rather than Italy, as part of a five-year agreement established between the two countries.

Italy continues to be the primary destination in Europe for irregular migration, with more than 52,000 arrivals recorded so far in 2024.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum. This new migration policy was introduced during a Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday.