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Tragedy Strikes Off Chios: Migrant Speedboat Collision Claims at Least 15 Lives
Chios, Greece – A devastating collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has resulted in the deaths of at least 15 individuals. The tragic incident, which occurred late Tuesday, has prompted a large-scale search and rescue operation as authorities work to locate potentially missing persons.
According to the Greek coast guard, the bodies of 14 people-11 men and three women-were recovered from the sea. An additional 25 migrants, including approximately 11 children, were rescued and transported to a hospital on Chios for medical attention.
Two coast guard officers also sustained injuries in the collision and are receiving care. Tragically, one of the injured women later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, bringing the confirmed death toll to 15.
The total number of individuals aboard the speedboat at the time of the collision remains unconfirmed. A comprehensive search and rescue effort is currently underway, involving four patrol vessels, an air force helicopter, and a private boat with divers, all working to locate any remaining missing passengers.
Local news footage captured scenes of the aftermath, showing at least one person being carried in a blanket from a boat to a waiting coast guard vehicle with flashing blue lights. Other images showed two children, one visibly limping, being led towards the vehicle.
The exact circumstances surrounding the collision are still under investigation, and the coast guard has not yet provided further details on how the incident occurred.
Michalis Giannakos, the head of Greece’s public hospital workers’ union, stated that staff at the Chios hospital are on high alert, prepared to manage the influx of injured individuals and ready for any additional arrivals. Speaking on Greece’s Open TV channel, Giannakos indicated that several of the injured required immediate surgery.
Greece serves as a primary entry point into the European Union for individuals fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Fatal accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence as many attempt the short but often dangerous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean. However, increased patrols and allegations of “pushbacks”-summary deportations without allowing asylum applications-by Greek authorities have reportedly reduced the number of crossing attempts.
Greece, along with several other European Union countries, has been progressively tightening its migration regulations. In December, the European Union began overhauling its migration system, focusing on streamlining deportations and increasing detentions.
The issue of migration has long been a subject of intense debate among EU member states. Over the past decade, a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe has shifted public discourse, contributing to the rise of far-right political parties. Consequently, EU migration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers has decreased from previous record levels.
Last month, the United Nations’ migration agency issued a grave warning that hundreds of migrants might be missing at sea or feared dead following reports of multiple deadly shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean in January. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed deep concern over these reports and is actively working to verify the information.
“Several boats are believed to have been involved over the past 10 days, with preliminary information suggesting that hundreds of people may be missing at sea or feared dead,” an IOM statement read. “In just the first weeks of 2026, hundreds of people are already feared to be missing,” the statement continued, cautioning that “the final toll may be significantly higher.”
The IOM emphasized that the Central Mediterranean remains the deadliest migration corridor globally, with at least 1,340 lives lost there last year alone. Between 2014 and the end of 2025, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project records show that more than 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean.