A diver who helped recover bodies from a deadly collision between a boat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard vessel said Friday that most of the 15 people who died had suffered severe head injuries, as questions mounted over the circumstances of the incident.
A search and rescue operation was still underway Friday for potentially missing people three days after the collision off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Chios. Fifteen people were killed and 26 injured, including 11 children and two coast guard officers. The total number of people on board the small speedboat remains unclear.
The large number of casualties has led to questions over how the collision occurred. Judicial authorities have launched an official inquiry.
Evaggelos Kirithras, a diver who participated in the recovery of the bodies that night, told The Associated Press that when he arrived on the scene, he saw 12 bodies lying inside a semisubmerged inflatable speedboat. The vessel had not capsized, he said.
“Most of them had head injuries. I can’t describe how bad the head injuries were,” Kirithras said, comparing the injuries to the impact of hitting a wall. The diver said he has participated in other rescue and recovery operations with the coast guard in the past, “but this was the first time I’ve seen such force.”
A report prepared by four coroners who examined the bodies indicated they had suffered severe injuries, Greek media said. The report has not been made public.
The exact circumstances of the collision remain unclear. In an initial statement, the coast guard said its patrol boat had come across the speedboat making its way toward Chios without navigation lights. It said the speedboat ignored sound and light signals to stop, and suddenly changed direction, colliding with the patrol boat and capsizing.
Photos released by the coast guard showed signs of abrasion on the patrol boat’s right side. The coast guard’s account couldn’t be independently verified.
“The pursuit, the collision, the injuries testify to a very violent incident,” said Kostas Arvanitis, a left-wing member of the European Parliament, demanding the publication of any footage from cameras on board the patrol vessel.
But authorities have said the camera on board had not been recording at the time.
Speaking in parliament Friday, Maritime Affairs Minister Vassilis Kikilias, under whose jurisdiction the coast guard lies, said the decision to not switch on the camera had been taken by the vessel’s captain because the migrant boat was already nearby and the long-range thermal imaging camera would not have worked properly.
“As I have been informed… the (camera’s) function is infrared and long-distance, so even if it had been switched on, it would not have had clear recordings of the collision event,” Kikilias said, and repeated that any judicial and administrative investigation into the incident was welcome.
All but one of the surviving passengers on board the roughly 8-meter (26-foot) speedboat have been identified as Afghans, while one Moroccan national among the injured has been arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling.
Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fatal accidents are a common occurrence. Many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. But increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks — summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.
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Kantouris reported from Thessaloniki, Greece
