European Border and Coast Guard

Strong winds are hampering the ongoing search for 12 seamen who have been missing since the freighter they were sailing on went down near the northeastern Aegean island of Lesvos on Sunday.

Greek authorities confirmed on Monday the identification of the body discovered at sea on Sunday as that of an Egyptian sailor from the crew of the sunken freighter Raptor. The vessel sank off the coast of Lesvos on Sunday morning, leaving 12 out of the 14 crew members still missing.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman commended the Greek government and police during a visit to the Evros border region on Friday for being very effective in preventing "illegal migration" by building "an extremely secure land border" with a sturdy barrier that was completed very rapidly to act as a deterrence.

The Greek government and authorities have been very successful in fighting "illegal migration" by creating "an extremely secure land border" with a sturdy fence that was built very quickly to act as a deterrent, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said on a visit to the Evros border region.

A video has surfaced featuring three men who seem to have apprehended four migrants in the Evros region.

A drone operated by the European border protection agency, Frontex, crashed into the sea 70 nautical miles southeast of Crete on Thursday.

According to reports, the Israeli-built Heron was on a surveillance mission when, for reasons unknown, it lost communication with the ground station and went down.

In the first seven months of this year, record levels of illegal crossings at EU borders were reported, DPA reported, citing the Union's border agency - Frontex.

The Hellenic Coast Guard coordinated the rescue of 49 migrants from a cargo ship 109 nautical miles southwest of Pylos early Friday. 

Forty-seven people were evacuated to a Coast Guard vessel, while a 21-year-old woman with sunburn and her companion were flown to Kalamata Hospital by helicopter. 

European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly on Wednesday opened an own-initiative inquiry aimed at clarifying the role of Frontex, the European border control agency, in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea following the drowning of hundreds of people in international waters off the coast of Greece on June 14. 

The European Union's official watchdog said Wednesday it has opened a probe in the role of the bloc's Frontex border agency in the shipwreck off Greece last month that is feared to have killed hundreds of people in the Mediterranean Sea.

Migrant crossings in unseaworthy boats organzied by human traffickers from Northern Africa have spiked this year, with massive losses of life.