According to reporting by the Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), on 3 February 2026, collision between a vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard and a boat carrying refugees took place off the coast of Chios. According to information available at the time of the press release, 15 people lost their lives. For RSA, the incident came about due to an established practice of competent authorities to not conduct search and rescue operation but an interception operation with a high-speed patrol boat. The Hellenic Coast Guard also issued an announcement about the incident.
More information is available here.
Source(s)
- Refugee Support Aegean (4 February, 2026), [Chios, Greece: Deadly tragedy following collision between Coast Guard vessel and boat carrying refugees],