Tripoli, Libya — Eight bodies have been recovered in two separate maritime incidents off Libya and Greece, local security services and coastguard officials reported on Saturday. Police in the coastal town of Qasr al-Akhyar, east of Tripoli, said residents spotted five corpses on the beach early Saturday. Investigators described the deceased as three men and two women with dark complexions; no identification documents were found.
A police statement noted that witnesses also saw a child’s body in the surf that was pulled back out to sea before it could be retrieved. Officers contacted the Libyan Red Crescent to collect the remains and warned that additional bodies may wash ashore. Hours later, Greek authorities announced a parallel incident near Crete.
A wooden vessel carrying asylum — seekers overturned while a commercial ship was attempting to evacuate passengers, according to official statements. Rescue teams recovered three bodies and picked up at least 20 survivors, most of whom said they were Egyptian or Sudanese nationals; four are minors. Patrol boats, a surveillance aircraft and two Frontex vessels are still searching the area.
Survivors told officials that roughly 50 people had been on board; a second boat with about 40 passengers was later detected nearby and its occupants were also taken to safety. Libya remains a principal departure point for people trying to reach Europe across the central Mediterranean.
The route is one of the busiest and deadliest in the world, with smugglers regularly using overcrowded and unseaworthy craft.
Greek officials have recorded more than 100 deaths or disappearances in their search-and-rescue zone since January 2025, while over 16,000 arrivals were reported on Crete alone last year. Athens suspended new asylum application reviews for three months last summer in an effort to manage the influx, a move that drew criticism from humanitarian organisations.
Neither the Libyan nor the Greek government has released the nationalities of the deceased, and investigations into both incidents continue.
Further details are expected as searches proceed.
