Greece: Eight people die, 18 rescued after migrant boat capsizes off Rhodes

The migrants died after falling into the sea when their speedboat collided with a coast guard boat that was pursuing it in a high speed chase, stated the Greek coast guard on Friday (December 20).

The coast guard said the boat had been carrying out “dangerous maneuvers” when it collided with the coast guard patrol vessel, causing the migrants to fall into the sea.

So far, the news agency Reuters reported, 18 people have been pulled from the sea, eight of whom were injured and have been taken to hospital, one of whom is reported to be in a “critical condition,” stated Greek state television.

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Search operation ongoing

A search operation is ongoing, confirmed the Greek coast guard, adding that “numerous people” were still missing, reported the German press agency dpa. Three patrol boats and a helicopter were deployed by the coast guard to assist the search.

The Captain of the boat has been arrested, a coast guard official told Reuters. Rescue workers and police covered the recovered bodies with sheets in Rhodes’ main port on Friday morning.

The Greek Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianides made a statement after the Greek coast guard recovered the bodies of eight migrants, including a small child, and rescued 18, following the capsizing of a speed boat off the Greek island of Rhodes.

“Unfortunately, once again, the ruthless ring of traffickers, in the face of their illegal profit, sacrificed the lives of eight of our fellow human beings today, including a small child,” read the statement in translation, posted in Greek on the Greek coast guard website.

Stylianides said he would like to “express my deepest sorrow for the loss of so many human lives, and indeed, under tragic circumstances.”

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Deaths and arrivals

Towards the end of November, at least eight migrants died after their boat capsized off the island of Samos. Six children died in that incident. Last week, at least seven people lost their lives in the south of the Greek island of Crete. Dozens are still thought to be missing from those incidents, reported dpa.

Stylianides expressed again how important it is to the Greek government to try and “put a stop to this vile circuit of smugglers.”

Since the beginning of the year, until mid-December, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR registered more than 59,200 arrivals in Greece, that was an increase on figures for 2023, when arrivals were just under 49,000.

Rhodes is located in the Aegean sea, not far off the Turkish coast, and is on one of the busiest smuggling routes from Turkey towards Greece.

Syrians have made up the largest number of people arriving in Greece this year, followed by Afghan nationals, Egyptians, Eritreans and Palestinians, shows Greek government data.

With Reuters, dpa and AP