By Anietie anii-bassey
Medical workers on the Greek island of Chios recounted scenes of anguish and urgency Wednesday as they treated survivors of a nighttime collision between a coast guard patrol vessel and a speedboat carrying migrants, an accident that killed at least 15 people and left more than two dozen injured.
Rescue crews continued to comb the waters off the island’s eastern coastline with patrol boats and a helicopter, uncertain how many passengers had been aboard the speedboat when it capsized late Tuesday. Authorities said most of those on board were believed to be Afghan nationals, while one person was identified as Moroccan.
Eleven men and three women were recovered from the sea shortly after the crash, and a hospitalized woman later died of her injuries, officials said. Twenty-four survivors remained in hospital Wednesday, including 11 children, along with one of two coast guard officers hurt in the incident.
Video recorded at a dock in Chios during the night showed emergency crews transferring injured people ashore under flashing blue lights. One small child was seen kneeling beside a figure wrapped in a foil blanket, gripping the person’s arm and resisting attempts to pull away before finally being led toward a waiting vehicle, limping.
Doctors told local media that many of the injured suffered broken bones, head trauma and abdominal injuries. Three patients were in intensive care, while two pregnant women lost their pregnancies as a result of the crash.
Pediatrician Kirykas Zannikos described the frantic efforts to reunite young survivors with their families, pausing repeatedly as his voice cracked. The children ranged from 1 to 15 years old, he said, and some arrived at the hospital alone or accompanied by strangers.
“One of our greatest difficulties was locating the parents,” he said. Several mothers and fathers were eventually found among the injured, including one woman who remained in intensive care.
Hospital staff representative Olympia Kouvara recounted the case of an infant who clung to a nurse while staff feared the parents might be among the dead. The child’s mother was later located in a surgical ward.
“There are moments like these when we also break down,” Kouvara told a local news outlet.
Doctors said the entire hospital mobilized as word of the disaster spread, with off-duty clinicians, nurses and even administrative staff rushing in to help manage the sudden influx of wounded and the deceased.
Greece’s minister for maritime affairs, Vassilis Kikilias, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and laid blame on smuggling networks that organize dangerous sea crossings.
“Our sorrow for the loss of 15 human lives in Chios is unspeakable,” he said. “Modern-day smugglers and traffickers put both migrants and coast guard crews in mortal danger.”
Kikilias promised that authorities would conduct a full investigation “with transparency and professionalism.” Greek President Constantine Tassoulas also voiced grief, pledging that the state would provide sustained support to survivors.
The exact sequence of events leading up to the collision remained under scrutiny. In a statement, the coast guard said one of its patrol boats encountered the speedboat traveling toward Chios without navigation lights late Tuesday.
Officers attempted to stop the vessel using sound and visual signals, but the speedboat changed course, struck the patrol craft and capsized, according to the account. Images released by the coast guard showed scrape marks along the patrol boat’s starboard side. The description could not immediately be verified independently.
Greece sits on one of the European Union’s primary maritime routes for people fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The short crossings from Turkey to nearby Greek islands are frequently attempted in overcrowded inflatable dinghies or high-powered boats operated by smugglers, and fatal accidents are not uncommon.
In recent years, intensified patrols and controversial practices criticized by rights groups have coincided with a drop in attempted crossings, though debates continue over how migrants are intercepted and returned.
European Union officials again stressed the dangers of smuggling operations following the Chios tragedy. EU spokesperson Markus Lammert said every death at sea was a profound loss and that criminal networks were responsible for placing desperate people in peril. He noted that the bloc has been seeking to curb such journeys through new policies, including reforms announced in December aimed at speeding up deportations and expanding detention capacity.
Migration has remained one of the most divisive political issues across Europe for more than a decade. After large influxes of asylum-seekers earlier in the 2010s reshaped political landscapes in several countries, governments have tightened border controls and asylum rules.
While arrivals are now well below peak levels, clashes at sea and humanitarian crises continue to underscore the high human cost of irregular migration routes across the Mediterranean and Aegean.
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