Migrant Boat Sinks Off Chios After Collision With Greek Patrol Vessel, 15 Dead With rescue detail

Athens, Feb 5 :  At least 15 migrants lost their lives after a small boat carrying dozens of people collided with a Greek coast guard patrol vessel and sank late Tuesday night in the Aegean Sea near the island of Chios, Greek authorities said.

According to the coast guard, the migrant boat was traveling toward Chios with its navigation lights turned off and failed to respond to repeated warning signals from a patrol vessel. Officials said the boat suddenly changed course, leading to a collision that caused it to capsize just a few miles from the Turkish coastline.

All passengers were thrown into the sea. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 14 adults, while 25 people were pulled alive from the water, including seven women, seven men, and 11 children. One of the rescued women later died in hospital, raising the death toll to 15.

Medical staff on Chios said two pregnant survivors suffered miscarriages, and at least three others remain in critical condition.

Authorities said the eight-meter boat was heavily overcrowded, carrying at least 39 people. Divers were deployed to assist in recovery efforts as the search continued for possible additional victims.

“What we initially encountered was an inflatable boat struck with bodies inside,” said volunteer diver Vangelis Kirithras, describing the rescue scene.

The shipping ministry has ordered a formal investigation into the incident. Sources familiar with the case told Reuters that the patrol vessel’s onboard camera was not activated at the time of the collision.

Officials said most of the migrants were Afghan nationals. One Moroccan survivor is expected to be arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling, according to sources.

Migration Minister Thanos Plevris defended the coast guard’s actions, praising rescue efforts and placing blame on human smugglers.

“The smugglers are the ones responsible for these deaths,” Plevris told parliament. “The coast guard saved lives.”

Greece has long been a key entry point into Europe for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. During the peak of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015–2016, nearly one million migrants arrived on Greek islands from Turkey.

Since 2019, Greece has significantly tightened border controls, increasing patrols and erecting physical barriers. However, the country has faced growing criticism from rights groups and international courts. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Greece violated human rights in a case involving alleged pushbacks at its land border with Turkey.

Human rights organisation Refugee Support Aegean accused Greek authorities of conducting an interception rather than a search-and-rescue operation in the Chios incident.

“This tragedy is not an isolated event,” the group said, warning that deterrence policies at the European Union’s external borders continue to result in loss of life.

Greek authorities maintain that they act in accordance with international law and say the coast guard has rescued thousands of migrants at sea in recent years.