Chios, Greece. Fifteen migrants were killed after their boat collided with a Greek coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the island of Chios late on Tuesday, authorities said. The incident was described as one of the deadliest maritime events in Greek waters in recent years.
Collision and sinking
The Greek coast guard said the collision occurred after a migrant boat sailing towards Chios with its navigation lights switched off ignored signals from a coast guard patrol vessel and changed course. The coast guard said the migrant boat capsized and sank due to the severity of the impact, causing all passengers on board to fall into the sea a few miles off the coast of Turkey.
Reuters said it was unable to independently verify how the collision occurred.
Rescue and recovery
Greek authorities recovered the bodies of 14 people and rescued 25 others, the coast guard said, identifying the survivors as seven women, seven men and 11 minors. The migrants, mostly Afghans but including one Moroccan, were taken to hospital, and one of them, a woman, later died.
Coast guard officials said the eight-metre boat was overloaded, with at least 39 passengers on board. A search and rescue operation involving five coast guard vessels and a helicopter was ongoing.
Government response
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris praised the coast guard’s efforts to save the migrants. “The smugglers are the ones who killed 15 people; the coast guard rescued 24 people,” Plevris told lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday. Responding to a question about how a dinghy could ram a coast guard vessel, he said: “I believe the coast guard.”
Migration route context
Greece has long been a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015-2016, Greece was at the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis and nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, including Chios, from Turkey.
What measures should authorities take to prevent similar maritime incidents on migration routes?