At least 14 people dead after migrant boat collided with Coast Guard off Greece coast

At least 14 people have died following a collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios late on Tuesday.

A significant search and rescue operation, involving patrol boats, a helicopter, and divers, is currently underway in the area.

Twenty-four migrants were rescued from the water and transported to a hospital on Chios.

Two coast guard officers also sustained injuries in the incident and were taken for medical treatment. The complete number of injured survivors among the migrants remains unclear.

Authorities have stated that it is not yet known how many individuals were aboard the speedboat at the time of the crash, prompting the ongoing search for potentially missing passengers.

Video footage from a local news site depicted the immediate aftermath, showing one person being carried in a blanket from a coast guard boat onto a jetty, while two children were led towards a waiting coast guard vehicle with flashing blue lights.