At least 20 migrants have lost their lives and 133 others have been rescued in four separate sea operations off the southern Greek island of Crete this weekend.
Two other people are reported missing, while Greek authorities are investigating the circumstances of the tragedy.
The first incident was recorded on Friday evening near the port of Kali Limenes, where a tugboat rescued 28 migrants from Sudan and recovered the lifeless body of a man.
Due to strong winds reaching up to 7 Beaufort, the operation was halted. The boat was found again this morning, with seven more lifeless bodies on board.
The tragedy grew even larger when 12 dead migrants were discovered on another boat, about 28 kilometres off the coast. Eighteen people were rescued from the same boat.
Meanwhile, in two other operations, Frontex forces rescued another 87 migrants who were travelling on two boats south of Crete. According to testimony from survivors on the first boat, they had set off from the coast of Libya on 3 or 4 November. Each had paid between 12,000 and 16,000 Libyan dinars to reach Greece.
Greek port police have arrested two Sudanese nationals, aged 28 and 16, suspected of being traffickers. They were identified by the rescued migrants and are charged, among other things, with facilitating illegal entry and exposing people to danger resulting in death.
In recent months, the sea route from Libya to Crete has become one of the main corridors for migration towards the European Union. According to data reported at the beginning of November, more than 23,000 migrants had arrived on Crete and the surrounding islands so far this year.