Six migrants, including infant, die in Lesvos boat collision

Six migrants, including an infant, died after a speedboat carrying people from Turkey collided with a Greek coast guard vessel and overturned off the island of Lesvos early on Monday, Greek authorities said.

The government has vowed zero tolerance towards migrant smugglers.

The accident occurred about 3.5 nautical miles south of Agrilia, Lesvos.

The coast guard said rescuers recovered the bodies of four men, one woman and an infant.

Eight people survived and were taken to hospital.

Authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national who was among the survivors.

He was identified as the suspected smuggler and operator of the boat.

Greece’s Shipping Minister Vassilis Kikilias blamed migrant traffickers for the deaths.

He said evidence so far indicated that the speedboat struck the left side of a coast guard vessel with its bow.

The exact circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.

“Our position is non-negotiable: zero tolerance for smugglers,” he said in a post on X.

Greece has long been a gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

In 2015 and 2016, the country was at the forefront of Europe’s migration crisis, when nearly one million people arrived on its islands, mainly from Turkey.