Khaberni - Greek Coast Guard patrol boats and a helicopter continue the search for persons possibly missing off one of the eastern Aegean islands, after a nighttime collision between a patrol ship and a speedboat carrying migrants, which resulted in at least 15 deaths.
Additionally, 24 migrants were injured, including 11 children, and were taken to the hospital on the island of Chios following the collision late Tuesday night.
The Coast Guard reported that two of its personnel were also injured, one of whom remains in the hospital.
Authorities clarified that the bodies of 11 men and three women were recovered from the sea shortly after the collision occurred, and later a woman succumbed to her injuries in the hospital.
The exact number of people on the migrant boat has not yet been determined. Four patrol boats, two helicopters, and divers began the search operation at night, continuing until the morning of Wednesday, assisted by a helicopter and five patrol ships.
The Greek authorities announced late last night that at least 15 people died as a result of the incident.
Greek media reported that dozens of people were aboard a migrant boat, heading from Turkey towards the island of Chios.
Media sources reported that a Coast Guard patrol boat intercepted the boat and ordered it to change course, after which a collision occurred under unclear circumstances, causing people to fall into the sea.
The Greek Broadcasting Corporation reported that the patrol boat fired a warning signal after spotting the migrant boat, which then attempted to flee.
While a large number of migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea annually aiming to reach Europe, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced in November that more than 1700 people have died or gone missing in 2025 on migration routes to Europe via the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of West Africa.
The International Organization for Migration recorded the death or disappearance of about 33,000 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014.
