Forensic examinations on the bodies of 15 refugees killed in a maritime tragedy off Chios have revealed severe blows and injuries, mainly to the head, according to the team of forensic doctors and mortuary staff.
Authorities continued searches for possible survivors and missing people, as one rescued father said one of his three children who travelled on the boat remained unaccounted for.
Questions also remained over the circumstances of the collision between the inflatable boat and a Hellenic Coast Guard patrol vessel. Survivors, speaking through a hospital interpreter to a delegation from the New Left party, described what they said happened moments before the crash.
New Left secretary Gavriil Sakellaridis relayed a survivor’s account, saying a spotlight turned on but no warning signal sounded. He said the Coast Guard vessel then approached “head-on” and passed over the boat. New Left MP Nasos Iliopoulos said the survivors told the delegation they travelled at low speed and were only minutes from the Greek coast. He added they claimed they would have stopped if authorities had issued any warning, and said the group included families.
The Hellenic Coast Guard, citing an official report, said the alleged smuggler reversed course and carried out dangerous manoeuvres in an attempt to ram the patrol vessel, putting the crew and passengers at risk. The report said the speedboat overturned due to the force of the collision, throwing everyone into the sea.
Investigators have not yet answered whether operational responsibility played a role in the incident. They have also faced questions over why the Coast Guard vessel’s camera did not record the event, which could have provided crucial evidence.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Foreign Policy magazine that initial briefings indicated the refugees’ inflatable boat struck the Coast Guard vessel. He said authorities would conduct the investigation with full transparency.
Meanwhile, a Moroccan man identified by refugees and migrants as their smuggler remained under guard while receiving treatment in a container unit. He suffered chest injuries and could not move. A prosecutor visited him and filed charges for human trafficking and causing a shipwreck.
In Chios, residents held a vigil by lighting lanterns and releasing them into the sea to honour the memory of the 15 people who died.
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