Greek coast guard vessels and a helicopter continued searching for potential missing people off an eastern Aegean island Wednesday following a deadly overnight collision between a patrol boat and a speedboat carrying migrants that left at least 15 dead.
Twenty-four migrants, including 11 children, were injured and hospitalized on the island of Chios, authorities said. Two coast guard officers were also injured, with one remaining hospitalized Wednesday.
The bodies of 11 men and three women were recovered from the sea shortly after the collision, and one woman later died in the hospital, officials added. The total number of people on the speedboat remains unknown.
Four patrol boats, two helicopters, and divers launched the search overnight, which continued Wednesday morning with a helicopter and five patrol vessels.
According to a coast guard statement, a patrol boat encountered the speedboat late Tuesday night near Chios, which was traveling without navigation lights. Despite sound and visual signals to stop, the speedboat reportedly changed course, collided with the patrol boat, and capsized. Photos released by the coast guard showed abrasion marks on the right side of the patrol boat. The account could not be independently verified.
Michalis Giannakos, head of Greece’s public hospital workers’ union, said hospital staff in Chios were put on alert overnight to handle the sudden influx of injured and dead. Several of the injured required surgery, he said.
Greece remains a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Fatal accidents are common, as migrants often attempt the short but perilous crossing from Turkey to nearby Greek islands in overcrowded dinghies or high-speed boats operated by smugglers. Increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks by Greek authorities have reduced such attempts.
The European Union has tightened migration regulations in recent years, including streamlining deportations and increasing detentions. Migration has been a contentious issue across EU member states, fueling the rise of far-right parties and hardened asylum policies, with the number of asylum-seekers now well below record levels.