A salvage operation has resumed off the coast of two Greek islands after a migrant boat tragedy that has led to at least 25 deaths and could have been higher but for the quick actions of locals.

The rescue mission had to be suspended due to bad weather with 18 bodies retrieved from the Aegean Island of Lesvos and at least seven from the Island of Kythira.

Sitting just off the tip of the Peloponnese, the island of Kythera is a popular holiday destination.

But in the past few months it has become the focus of attention for a different reason with overcrowded boats filled with refugees getting lost in its waters and locals trying to save them.

Michalis Protopsaltis runs a family construction company in Kythira and was able to use a crane to help in the latest boat tragedy.

"it's just a truck with a crane, a crane that I use to lift heavy objects and transport them from one spot to another. I never thought that this crane would end up saving people," said Protopsaltis.

When he heard people were in distress at sea, the first thing that came to mind was to grab his employees and help.

"When we arrived and saw where the people were, we thought that no one would survive, so we decided to grab our crane, attached a large sack to and started pulling up as many as we can. I'd say we saved around 60 to 65 people that night," he said.

A recovery operation by the Hellenic coast guard resumed on Sunday after being halted for almost three days due to high winds.

Coast guard divers accompanied by boats have collected the bodies of those drowned - at least seven lost their lives, while eight more are still missing at sea.

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Those who survived were taken to a makeshift shelter and cared for by medical staff and locals. 

"Suddenly we heard a loud noise, it was the noise of our boat hitting the rocks then everyone start shouting for help and started jumping from the boat onto the cliffs, some fell in the water and drowned and some survived," said Afghan refugee, Tamana.

Kythera sits on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head directly to neighboring Italy. Just last month alone, more than three incidents where boats with migrants capsized happened on the island's cliffs.

This latest deadly incident comes at a time of tension between Greece and Turkiye, which have blamed each other on the issue of migration.

Turkiye has previously accused Greece of forcing migrant boats back from its waters.

The Greek government continues to blame what it calls Turkiye's "tolerance of ruthless smugglers" for causing this latest tragedy.

But as the back and forth continues over who is to blame, the death toll is likely to rise - with many still missing at sea.