At Least 15 Die in Rare Collision Between Migrant Boat and Greek Patrol Vessel

At least 15 people died after a collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek Coast Guard vessel off the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea, authorities said. The dead included 11 men and four women. The coast guard described the episode as highly unusual because it involved direct contact between the two boats.

It said its vessel detected the migrant speedboat moving without navigation lights during a routine patrol, signaled for it to stop with lights and warning sounds, and said the boat reversed course and struck the patrol vessel on the starboard side, causing the speedboat to capsize and sink.

Officials reported that 26 other people were wounded, including 11 children and two coast guard officers, and that a search for survivors was underway. The ministry declined to say whether the migrants died from injuries sustained in the crash or from drowning, and hospital officials said several migrants had surgery but that none of the injured bore gunshot wounds.

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