Fifteen people have died, based on the so far account (as of 06.30) of the tragedy that unfolded yesterday, Tuesday around 21.00 in the sea area off Mersinidi, in Vrondado, eastern Chios, where a boat with an unknown number of migrants and refugees collided with a vessel of the Coast Guard.
14 dead - 11 men and three women - were recovered from the sea, while a fourth woman ended up at the General Hospital of Chios where she was taken to, severely injured with head and brain injuries.
Another 24 injured, seven men, six women and 11 children, were also taken to hospital and are being treated. Three of them were operated on as they had vital organ injuries. Two other women, pregnant, will also be operated on after it was found that the fetuses were dead.
Two members of the Coast Guard (a man and a woman) who were on board the boat were slightly injured in the collision and were taken to the hospital of Chios to receive first aid. The man is injured in the upper limb, the woman suffered a slight concussion.
Searches in the sea area continued throughout the night and will intensify at first light to locate any missing persons. It is not yet clear how many migrants and refugees were on board the boat.
The announcement of the Coast Guard on the circumstances of the accident in Chios
Details about the fatal accident that took place last night in the sea area of Chios, announced the Coast Guard.
According to the latest update, the incident occurred when an inflatable patrol boat of the L.S.-E.L.A.T. (P.L.S.), which was performing a scheduled patrol, spotted an inflatable speedboat with foreigners on board moving without navigation lights towards the east coast of Chios, in the sea area of Myrsinidi. The pilot of the speedboat did not comply with the light and sound signals of the VTS, instead he reversed course and crashed into the starboard side of the Coast Guard vessel. Due to the severity of the impact, the vessel capsized and sank, resulting in all its occupants falling into the sea.
Under the coordination of the Uniform Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (EKSED) of the Hellenic Coast Guard - Hellenic Coast Guard, a search and rescue operation was immediately launched. Four patrol vessels of the coast guard and a private boat with private divers on board participated in the operation. Two Air Force helicopters operated from the air. A total of 25 foreigners - 7 men, 7 women and 11 minors - were rescued by a Coast Guard boat, injured and transported to the port, from where they were taken to the Skylitzio Hospital. Subsequently, one of them, a woman, died. Two members of the crew of the coast guard boat were also taken to the hospital. A man and a woman, with the man already discharged while his colleague remains hospitalised for further examination. During the search, a total of 14 bodies, 11 men and 3 women, were located and recovered from two Vessels. The bodies were transported to the port and subsequently to the Skylitsio Hospital for an autopsy and necropsy. The total number of dead is 15.
Preliminary investigation is carried out by the Central Port Authority of Chios. Searches to locate possibly missing foreigners continue with five patrol boats, while a helicopter took off.
