Six migrants are dead, including an infant, after a smuggling speedboat collided with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel in t...

Six migrants are dead, including an infant, after a smuggling speedboat collided with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel in the early hours of Monday morning off the island of Lesvos. The collision occurred roughly 3.5 nautical miles south of Agrielia, when the speedboat changed course and struck the pursuing patrol boat, sending several passengers into the sea. Four men, one woman, and a baby were found unconscious in the water and later confirmed dead. Eight survivors, including two children, were pulled from the sea and transferred to Mytilene Hospital for treatment. Greece's Joint Rescue Coordination Center directed the overnight operation, which involved a floating ambulance, three coast guard patrol boats, a Hellenic Air Force helicopter, and a vessel from the Hellenic Rescue Team. The operation concluded in the early morning hours. Coast Guard authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national at the scene, accusing him of steering the smuggling vessel from the Turkish coast and of causing a fatal accident at sea. Minister of Merchant Marine Vassilis Kikilias responded to the deaths with what he described as "sadness and anger," saying the speedboat's pilot bore responsibility for the collision. The nationalities of the dead and survivors have not been released. Authorities confirmed no additional people are reported missing. An investigation into the precise circumstances of the collision is underway. This is the second deadly collision between a Coast Guard vessel and a migrant speedboat in 2026. A similar incident off Chios in February left at least 15 people dead after a speedboat struck a Coast Guard patrol boat during a night pursuit. #LesvosAccident #AegeanMigrantCrisis #HellasNews