At least 98 refugees dead or missing at Greece’s maritime borders in 2025
28 fatal incidents, including 16 shipwrecks
At least 58 refugees were recovered dead and a further 40 remain missing (and are now presumed dead) in 28 fatal incidents (including 16 shipwrecks) at Greece’s maritime borders in 2025.
CONTENTS
The data for 2025
The data we publish are based on our own systematic documentation and analysis covering the entire year, drawing on announcements by the Greek and Turkish Coast Guards, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), publications by Greek and international media, as well as the records of the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, Alarm Phone and Aegean Boat Report, and the data collection of the organisation Collective Aid. Here are the corresponding figures we had recorded for 2024.
Of the 28 fatal incidents with dead or missing persons, 14 occurred in the North Aegean, 11 in the South Aegean, and 3 near Crete. The largest number of fatal incidents was recorded in the maritime areas of Lesvos (7) and Farmakonisi (5). The fourth quarter of the year saw the highest number of incidents and victims. The shipwreck off Ierapetra, with 17 people dead and 15 missing, stands out as one of the most devastating incidents in Greek waters in recent years. Furthermore, at least 18 women and 10 children were recorded as dead or missing.
In addition, we recorded 23 bodies that were found without being linked to a specific shipwreck or incident and are therefore not included in the above figures. Many of the bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition, making identification of these people extremely difficult.
On the Turkish side of the Aegean, we documented at least 53 dead and 3 missing persons in 10 incidents. The publication of official Turkish data is complex, meaning that the figures presented here are not exhaustive.
Overall, excluding individual bodies that could not be linked to a specific incident, at least 154 people lost their lives or remain missing in 2025 in 38 fatal incidents on both sides of the Aegean and in the wider area of Crete.
In certain of these incidents, there are documented reports of actions that require independent investigation as potential human rights violations and acts of violence at the borders.
This picture remains incomplete. According to reports by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration (indicatively here and here), the actual number of dead and missing in the Mediterranean is likely higher, as many shipwrecks go unreported or are never detected, particularly in the Central Mediterranean. Furthermore, shipwrecks along this route often have an extremely high death toll because they occur in open sea. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded 197 people dead or missing in 17 fatal incidents in the maritime areas of eastern Libya and Egypt.
Selected fatal shipwrecks in 2025
On 22 March, at Farmakonisi, a man and two children were pulled from the water unconscious; the children were revived thanks to the immediate provision of first aid. On 26 June, the body of a 7-year-old refugee who had been missing for three days following a shipwreck near Farmakonisi was found by the Turkish Coast Guard on the Turkish coast; the official identification process is still ongoing with the support of RSA. On 11 November, in a shipwreck near Gavdos, three bodies, one woman and two men, were recovered, while at least thirteen people remain missing. A shocking video circulated showing people calling for help immediately before their boat sank in the presence of a vessel of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which had approached the scene to provide assistance. On 8 December, a 12-year-old boy was killed after being struck by a boat propeller in Samos. On 25 December, a minor girl went missing and was never found following an incident at Farmakonisi.
A particularly emblematic case was the shipwreck of 3 April 2025 off Skala Sykamnias, Lesvos, where seven people lost their lives, including three women and three children. From the following day, RSA undertook the representation of most of the survivors and of the victims’ families, coordinating communication with the competent authorities in order to enable the identification and burial of the deceased, a process which, for some, lasted three months. As noted by Efi Latsoudi, social scientist at RSA: “Border policies that kill people come with a heavy toll in human lives. The point is not only to stand by families as they bury their loved ones. The point is what we do to stop burying people.” It should also be noted that on 5 March 2026, the Three-member Felony Appeal Court of the North Aegean acquitted a survivor of this shipwreck. The refugee, who had lost his wife and two-year-old child in the shipwreck, had been accused of unauthorised transportation and causing a shipwreck, as the alleged driver of the boat. He was represented with the support of lawyers from RSA and Legal Centre Lesvos. The case once again highlighted the unjust criminalisation of refugee survivors.
Finally, although outside the 2025 timeframe, we cannot fail to mention the deadly tragedy that occurred in Chios on 3 February 2026, following a collision of a Greek Coast Guard vessel with a boat carrying refugees. Fifteen people lost their lives, and one child remains missing. All survivors sustained serious injuries, with one woman remaining in critical condition. This incident once again raises serious questions about compliance with the duty to search and rescue, and highlights the dangerous consequences of the systematic deterrence practices implemented at Greek and European borders.
Justice for the victims
Even after death, victims and survivors are often deprived of fundamental rights such as the identification and dignified burial of the deceased, the notification of their families, and effective access to justice. The lack of effective and independent investigations into the circumstances of shipwrecks undermines the rule of law and perpetuates impunity.
RSA, with the support of the German foundation PRO ASYL, has provided legal assistance throughout 2025 in multiple shipwreck incidents involving fatalities or missing persons, with a particular focus on Lesvos, Farmakonisi and other locations. The legal assistance we provide includes providing information to survivors and their families and liaising with the authorities, supporting identification and burial procedures for the deceased, documenting missing persons, providing legal representation to survivors and their families in asylum procedures, and pursuing legal action to ensure the investigation of possible violations and accountability.
These deaths are not “tragic incidents”, but a predictable consequence of the absence of safe and legal pathways and of the systematic deterrence practices implemented at the EU’s external borders, in violation of fundamental rules of international and European law. These policies reinforce smuggling networks, leaving people in need of protection at their mercy.
The protection of human life is not left to the discretion of states, but constitutes a legal obligation. A fundamental revision of Greek and European policies on international protection and border management, guided by fundamental rights, remains urgently needed. The dead, the missing and their families are entitled to truth, accountability and justice.
Sources
Methodology
Scope of documentation
Fatal incidents at the maritime borders of Greece and along the Turkish coast in 2025. The number of refugees recorded as dead or missing is documented, while incidents involving the discovery of bodies are also collected, taking into account that their connection to a refugee border incident cannot be verified with certainty.
Data sources
The documentation is based on publicly available information, primarily on official announcements by the Hellenic Coast Guard, the database of the International Organization for Migration, specifically the Missing Migrants Project, announcements by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), publications by reliable Greek and international media outlets, as well as records by non-governmental organisations monitoring incidents at sea, such as Alarm Phone and Aegean Boat Report, and data collected by the organisation Collective Aid. For incidents in Turkey, we rely on official announcements by the Turkish Coast Guard Command, noting that the publication of official Turkish data is complex, which means that the figures presented here are not exhaustive.
The information is cross-checked across the above sources, where possible, and updated when new data emerge.
Data recorded
For each incident, the following information is recorded, where available: date, the location off whose coast the incident occurred, the number of people dead and missing, and links to sources.
Limitations
The documentation relies exclusively on publicly available information and therefore necessarily constitutes a minimum estimate of the number of people dead and missing, recognising that the actual number is higher.
It is also important to note that the Greek and Turkish coast guards do not publish comprehensive and systematic data on all incidents involving refugees.
