LESVOS, Greece — A devastating maritime collision off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos has left six people dead, including an infant, after a high-speed vessel carrying migrants from Turkey collided with a Greek coast guard patrol boat and overturned early Monday.
The tragic incident unfolded in approximately 3.5 nautical miles south of Agrilia. According to Greek authorities, the speedboat was attempting high-speed evasive maneuvers to avoid a routine coast guard inspection when it struck the left side of the patrol vessel and capsized into the Aegean Sea.
A large-scale search and rescue operation was immediately launched by the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC). The operation deployed a floating ambulance, multiple Greek coast guard patrol boats, a Hellenic Air Force helicopter, and volunteer vessels from the Hellenic Rescue Team.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of six victims following the tragedy, including four adult men, one adult woman, and an infant.
Eight survivors—four men, two women, and two children—were pulled from the water and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Authorities later confirmed that all passengers on board had been accounted for.
Greek law enforcement officials arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national found among the survivors. He has been identified as the suspected human smuggler and operator of the vessel.
Greek Shipping Minister Vassilis Kikilias strongly condemned human trafficking networks operating along the maritime border, placing direct blame on the smugglers for placing lives at extreme risk.
"Our position is non-negotiable: zero tolerance for smugglers," Kikilias stated in a public address, noting that preliminary evidence indicates the speedboat's bow collided directly with the coast guard vessel during the pursuit.
Greece remains one of the primary entry points into the European Union for refugees and migrants escaping conflict and hardship across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Despite heightened border security and naval patrols across the Aegean Sea, human smuggling rings frequently use high-speed motorboats and overcrowded vessels to attempt dangerous nocturnal crossings from the Turkish mainland to neighboring Greek islands.
An official investigation into the precise sequence of events leading to the fatal collision remains ongoing.
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