Greek authorities say 15 migrants died after their boat collided with a coastguard vessel near Chios, with 11 children among those rescued.
ATHENS: A collision between a Greek coastguard patrol boat and a migrant vessel in the Aegean Sea has left 15 people dead.
The incident occurred on Tuesday off the island of Chios, near the Turkish coast.
Authorities said the pilot of a high-speed migrant boat without navigation lights failed to comply with visual and audible signals from the coastguard.
“The pilot turned around, and the boat then collided with the starboard side of the Coast Guard patrol boat,” a coastguard statement said.
It added that the force of the impact caused the migrant boat to capsize and sink.
Fourteen bodies, including three women, were retrieved from the sea.
Another woman rescued alive later died from her injuries, according to the coastguard.
Among those rescued were 11 children, who have been taken to hospital along with two injured coastguards.
Rescuers in five boats and a helicopter searched the area early on Wednesday for other survivors or victims.
The total number of people aboard the migrant boat remains unknown.
Large numbers of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe each year.
The UN refugee agency reported in November that more than 1,700 people died or went missing in 2025 on migration routes to Europe.
The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
