Cyprus recovers at least seven bodies after refugee boat capsizes

Authorities launched a massive search and rescue operation after the capsized of a boat carrying refugees, according to Cyprus’ state broadcaster, and at least seven bodies have been recovered from Cyprus.

Two people were rescued from international waters about 30 nautical miles (55. 5 km) southeast of the island on Monday, according to the broadcaster, while an undetermined number of people are reportedly missing.

Without mentioning any injuries, Cyprus’ search and rescue coordination center claimed that boats and aircraft were deployed as part of the rescue operation.

A search and rescue operation was “ongoing to locate missing persons after a migrant boat capsized 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) southeast of Cape Greco,” according to an official statement from the island’s southeastern end.

The center added that the search for survivors involved several naval helicopters and police patrol boats.

One survivor told the authorities that they were about 20 Syrians who had recently left the port of Tartous, which is the site of recent bloodshed in Syria, on board.

Less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) away from the Syrian and Lebanonese coasts, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, has long been a refugee’s port of call.

In the eastern Mediterranean last year, 125 refugees died, according to UN statistics, but the figure is likely to be higher.

Despite a wider decline in the bloc, the European Union’s border protection agency, Frontex, reported that last year, irregular border crossings into the EU over the eastern Mediterranean increased.

Nicosia reported that it has the highest per capita rate of new asylum applications in the EU, but it has managed to reduce this rate significantly.

According to the Ministry of Interior’s report from last month, asylum applications decreased by 69% between 2022 and 2024 while irregular maritime arrivals have decreased since May as a result of tougher government regulations.

Some Syrian refugees have returned home as a result of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in December. Since then, according to the government of Cyprus, 40 Syrians have requested a return home on average every day.