25 people still required hospital assistance, including 11 children
Fifteen people lost their lives in Greece after their vessel collided with a Coast Guard boat during a sea chase near the island of Chios, in the eastern Aegean Sea. Authorities confirmed the deaths of 15 people, a number that could still rise. The dead included 11 men and four women.
According to sources cited by the Greek press, 25 people were transported to the island’s hospital, including 11 children and two pregnant women who lost their babies. Several of the injured had serious injuries and had to undergo emergency surgery.
According to the official version of the Coast Guard, the incident occurred when a patrol boat detected a fast vessel approaching the coast at high speed and without navigation lights, with the aim of disembarking migrants. Authorities indicate that flashing lights and sirens were activated to order a stop, but the boat ignored the signals, changed course and ended up colliding with the Coast Guard boat. The huge impact caused the migrants’ boat to overturn, throwing an unknown number of people overboard.
A search and rescue operation was then launched, involving five patrol boats, a helicopter and teams of divers, which is still ongoing, as it was not possible to determine how many people were still on board. Witnesses cited by Reuters estimate that the number could be between 30 and 35 occupants, a figure that has not been officially confirmed.
According to an official from the Ministry of Maritime Transport, heard by Kathimerini, the illegal vessel tried to ram the patrol boat during the chase, a version that has not yet been independently confirmed. The collision also resulted in two Coast Guard injuries, who were taken to the hospital in Chios, one of which has already been discharged.
The accident comes at a time when the European Border Agency is analyzing 12 possible cases of human rights violations by Greece, including alleged summary returns of asylum seekers. The Greek government rejects these accusations and guarantees that it does not carry out forced expulsions or violate human rights.
