Six people died and 14 were rescued in a Samos speedboat capsize on Monday, after the boat carrying migrants overturned 3.7 nautical miles off the island, the Hellenic Coast Guard said.
The six people who died in the Samos speedboat capsize were five men and a woman, the Coast Guard said. All 14 survivors are men.
According to the Coast Guard, the alleged smuggler is among the survivors. He is an Iranian national, and authorities have not yet released his age.
The Samos speedboat capsize came only hours after a separate incident off Lesvos, where six more people lost their lives. As a result, 12 people died in two incidents in the eastern Aegean within a single night.
How the Samos speedboat overturned
The speedboat was travelling at high speed, the Coast Guard said. Initially, a Turkish coastguard vessel spotted it in Turkish territorial waters, and then a Hellenic Coast Guard patrol boat detected it in Greek waters.
The boat then overturned after a sharp manoeuvre. Following the alarm, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre coordinated a search and rescue operation.
A Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel, a rescue boat and a Hellenic Air Force helicopter took part. Weather conditions in the area were good, the Coast Guard said, while the search for anyone missing after the Samos speedboat capsize continued.
Deadly collision off Lesvos
Earlier, shortly after midnight, a speedboat collided with a Coast Guard patrol vessel 3.5 nautical miles south of Agrielia, on Lesvos. Four men, a woman and an infant died, and rescuers saved eight people.
According to the Coast Guard, the speedboat was manoeuvring to escape during a pursuit when its bow struck the port side of the patrol vessel. Authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national, the suspected smuggler, who was among the survivors. Greek City Times reported the Lesvos deaths earlier on Monday.
Seven of the eight survivors are in Vostaneio Hospital in Mytilene, and one has gone home. In particular, a woman has an orthopaedic injury and may need surgery, while another survivor has a more serious head injury.
Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias said the Lesvos deaths left the government with grief and anger. “Zero tolerance for smugglers,” he said in a post on X.
Kikilias also said the exact circumstances of the Lesvos collision remain under investigation.
Source: AMNA
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