AP
Athens, Updated At : 09:20 AM Feb 04, 2026 IST
A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has killed at least 14 people, the coast guard said late Tuesday. A search and rescue operation involving patrol boats, an air force helicopter and divers was underway for potentially missing people.
The coast guard said another 25 migrants, including about 11 children, were rescued and transported to a hospital on Chios, as were two coast guard officers who were injured. Of the 14 bodies collected, 11 were men and three were women, the coast guard said.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been on the speedboat. Four patrol vessels, an air force helicopter and a private boat carrying divers were involved in searching for potentially missing passengers.
Video footage by a local news site showed at least one person being carried in a blanket from a boat moored alongside a jetty into a waiting coast guard vehicle with blue flashing lights, while others led two children, one limping, toward the vehicle.
The coast guard had no immediate information on how the collision occurred or on the identities of the casualties or other passengers on the speedboat.
Michalis Giannakos, head of Greece’s public hospital workers’ union, said staff at the hospital in Chios were on alert to handle the sudden influx of injured and were on standby for potentially more people. Speaking on Greece’s Open TV channel, Giannakos said several of the injured required surgery.
Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fatal accidents are common; many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands. Increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.
Several EU countries, including Greece, have tightened migration rules. In December, the European Union moved to overhaul its migration system, streamlining deportations and increasing detentions. Debate over migration has hardened across the EU since a surge of asylum-seekers a decade ago, with far-right parties gaining power and asylum-seeker numbers falling from earlier peaks.
