More than 400 migrants have landed on a small Greek island as the country continues to struggle to control illegal entries. Gavdos near Crete saw the huge influx at a new entry point increasingly used by migrant smugglers, according to the Hellenic Coastguard.
The numbers consisted of separate groups arriving over a 24-hour period and represented a record number of arrivals in one day, surpassing the previous total of 350. Gavdos lies between Crete and Libya, making it an opportune landing point for people smugglers. Throughout 2025, the island has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people arriving by boat, with its mayor, Lilian Stefanaki, describing the situation as pushing the island to the limit.
She told the Guardian in March: “The weekend before last we had 150 people arrive from Libya in three very overcrowded boats.
“We’re being pushed to the limit because, firstly, there’s no infrastructure to house them on Gavdos.”
One of the few police officers on the island, Efsevios Daskalakis noted: “It’s been incredible. More than 800 souls in just a few months have landed on our coast in Tripiti.
“They’re young men mostly, who arrive in boats carrying four times their capacity after more than a day-and-a half at sea.”
The journey is treacherous, with over 180km of open sea between the Libyan city of Tobruk and Gavdos’ shores.
In one tragic incident in December, a shipwreck led to the deaths of a reported 35 people, including children, with only 8 bodies recovered.
Daskalakis added: “The first thing they do is call the emergency number, 112, which is when I am alerted by central office.
“There’s no road so I have to walk there if the seas are too turbulent. It’s been quite something.
“Usually it’s tourists you see at Tripiti because it’s the southernmost tip of Europe and they like to be photographed on the chair sculpture there.”
The latest influx saw the migrants’ fishing boat was detected by an EU border vessel which enlisted the help of a Greek coastguard vessel and four nearby cargo ships to participate in a rescue operation.
Officials confirmed that the migrants were later transferred to Crete but declined to give further information on the nationalities of those involved.