14 migrants die in attempt to reach Crete

ATHENS:

Fourteen migrants died in an attempt to reach the island of Crete by boat, Greece's coastguard said on Monday, in the second deadly incident in the area in recent days.

A Morocco-flagged container ship spotted their boat on Monday about 15 nautical miles (28 km) off the port of Kaloi Limenes. Thirteen migrants were found dead and another died later in hospital, the coastguard said. Eighteen people survived.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the deaths. Greek authorities said the boat may have been at sea for days, struggling to reach the shore due to strong winds. "We found them (the survivors) shivering from the cold," said a local coastguard official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.