Six migrants, including an infant, died on Monday after a speedboat carrying migrants from Turkey collided with a Greek coast guard vessel and overturned near the Greek island of Lesvos.
The Greek coast guard said rescuers recovered the bodies of four men, a woman and the infant about 3.5 nautical miles south of Agrilia. Eight survivors were rescued and taken to hospital.
Authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national who survived the incident, identifying him as the suspected smuggler and operator of the speedboat.
Greece’s Shipping Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, blamed migrant traffickers for the tragedy, saying preliminary findings indicated that the speedboat’s bow struck the left side of the coast guard vessel. Investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the collision.
“Our position is non-negotiable: zero tolerance for smugglers,” Kikilias said in a post on X.
Greece remains a major entry point into Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. During the 2015–2016 migration crisis, nearly one million people arrived on Greek islands, most of them crossing from Turkey.
