A migrant boat sank near the Aegean island of Samos yesterday (July 6), leaving one man dead while dozens were rescued from the sea, according to the Greek coastguard.

A spokesperson said that an operation to rescue at least 21 people was complicated by gale-force winds, another 14 people made it to shore independently.

A report by the Greek state broadcaster ERT said the dead man was a Sudanese national believed to be in his twenties, adding that the 35 survivors from the boat were taken to a closed camp on the Greek island of Samos.

A press release from the Greek Coast Guard stated that the boat had been approaching the "rocky shore" to the west of Samos, before the boat capsized "throwing its passengers into the sea." They added that Greek rescue divers found the man dead in the sea during the rescue operation.

Arrivals in Greece

Although arrivals to Greece have dropped by 27 percent in the first half of 2026, compared to last year. According to UNHCR data, last updated on June 30, just 775 people had arrived on the island of Samos since the beginning of the year, the great majority of arrivals has been on the southern Greek island of Crete (8,568 between January and the end of June). Most of those people depart from Libya before making their way towards Crete.

More than 15,500 people have reached Greece irregularly so far this year, according to UNHCR data, and numbers are expected to rise during the summer months. Greek officials estimate that hundreds of thousands more are currently in Libya, waiting for an opportunity to cross into Europe.

This decline indicates a deeper shift in route away from Turkey toward longer, more dangerous crossings from Libya with smugglers more often switching to southern Greek islands such as Crete and Gavdos. These journeys often involve transit through a fragmented Libyan security landscape, where migrants face detention, extortion, and abuse before even reaching the sea.

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Procedural failures

Scrutiny is mounting over how migrants are treated after arrival in Europe. On July 6, the European Ombudsman criticized the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) for procedural failures in Greece, including inadequate handling of vulnerable applicants and missed indicators of trafficking or prior abuse.

The inquiry also flagged the absence of effective mechanisms for asylum seekers to challenge flawed interview processes -- a critical issue in determining protection status.

The Ombudsman's concerns are compounded by longstanding allegations of pushbacks at Greece’s borders, which authorities deny but which continue to be documented by NGOs and international organizations. Together, they point to systemic pressure points from departure and transit to reception and adjudication.

Read Also'Missing in the Mediterranean': Organization sounds alarm about missing migrants

With AFP