Greece: One migrant dies and 30 rescued off Samos

A statement from the Greek coast guard said the incident occurred late Tuesday, September 17, off the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, not far from the Turkish coast. They reported detecting a speedboat carrying 31 migrants, including eight children.

In the statement, the coast guard said it sent a patrol vessel toward the speedboat and tried to “immobilize it using sound and visual signals.” However, the boat’s operators did not comply with instructions and attempted to escape. “A pursuit ensued during which the speed boat operator repeatedly performed dangerous maneuvers, putting the physical integrity of the coast guard crew at immediate risk,” stated the coast guard.

At that point, the coast guard fired “warning shots” which immobilized the speed boat and enabled the coast guard to arrest its operators. The coast guard said their warning shots “caused no injury.”

Also read: Smugglers force migrants off speedboats to avoid arrest

‘Forced overboard’

According to the Greek authorities, the migrants on the speedboat were “forced overboard” to enable the smugglers to escape being caught by Greek patrols. However, the Greek authorities arrested two Turkish men on the speedboat who were in the process of heading back to Turkey when they were caught.

A group of 27 migrants from the boat managed to swim ashore to Samos, and were later discovered on land by the Samos police. The coast guard said the migrants who swam to shore were in “good health.”

A search and rescue operation was then launched by the coast guard, after those on land told them that there were some people still in the sea. The coast guard later located three migrants found alive in the water, and the body of one man. No one else was reported missing from the boat, stated the coast guard.

Also read: ‘Real migrant smugglers don’t board the boats’

Rescued: 15 men, 7 women, 8 minors

In total, 15 men, seven women and eight minors were rescued. All those rescued, and the body of the dead man were taken to the port of Karlovasos, where an autopsy is being carried out on the dead person at the General Hospital of Samos.

According to the coast guard, the rescued identified the two arrested as their smugglers. The two are being charged with the felony of transporting third-country nationals to Greece, an act that resulted in the death of one person, as well as dangerous interference with transportation and illegal entry into the country.

Smugglers operating on the eastern Aegean route into Greece by sea have increasingly turned to speed boats to try and avoid the marine patrols operated by both the Greek coast guard and the European border agency Frontex in the area.

However, the use of the high-powered speedboats has been leading to more and more confrontations and chases, in which speedboats have been rammed by coast guard vessels, and in one case a migrant was fatally shot by coast guards when they opened fire on a smuggling boat, reports the news agency Associated Press AP.

The smuggling networks have also been attempting to sail more migrants round Greece to Italy.

Strengthening the land borders

At the same time as the incident off Samos was reported, the Greek authorities announced they would be strengthening their land border with Turkey in the northeast of the country along the line of the river Evros. They aim to extend the border fence and hire at least 150 additional border guards.

The German news agency dpa reported that Greece is calling on the EU for additional funding to support this effort. According to the Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, Greece is concerned that changes to EU rules, which allow other EU countries to return migrants and asylum seekers to the first EU country of entry under the Dublin Regulation, could lead to an increase in the number of asylum seekers in Greece.

The heightened controls at the German borders, as well as a reduction in the welfare payments offered to asylum seekers in countries like Germany, are also expected to influence migrants’ decisions regarding whether or not to travel on from Greece when they have been granted asylum there.

Also read: German police reintroduce spot controls at all borders

Greek government fears effects of German policy changes

The Greek government is reportedly unhappy with the change in German policy regarding migration. A government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told the TV station Antena on Tuesday that Greece would not become “the punching bag of other countries,” and added that it is “not the country that solves problems that other European countries have caused through bad policies,” reported dpa.

Since the beginning of the year until September 15, according to the latest available update, the UN Refugee Agency has confirmed the arrival of 36,863 migrants in Greece, with over 32,000 arriving by sea. Of these, more than 4,600 arrived on the island of Samos. That represents around a 40 percent increase in arrivals compared to the same period in 2023, reports dpa. This is contrary to the general trend, where most countries in Europe have registered a drop in arrivals.

The majority of migrants arriving by sea in Greece come originally from Afghanistan, closely followed by people from Syria, and Egypt.

With AP and dpa

Also read: Greece and Austria condemn Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls