Eight migrants drown after boat tries to evade Greek ship

At least eight people – including a child – have drowned after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized in the Aegean Sea while chasing a Greek ferry.

The Coast Guard said the boat’s driver “failed” to try to escape from the patrol boat.

The boat was traveling at high speed and collided with the side of a Greek Coastguard vessel while trying to escape, according to local reports.

So far 18 people have been rescued from the sea, the coast guard said, with many of the survivors suffering from injuries as a result of the incident.

Friday’s incident happened near the island of Rhodes, off the coast of Turkey, on a route often used by migrants.

Helicopters and coast guards are continuing to search for any survivors.

Greece’s shipping minister, Christos Stylianides, said he was deeply saddened by the killings, saying the aim was to combat “brutal” human traffickers who sacrifice their lives for profit.

Thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe by boat die in the Mediterranean every year.

Last month eight people, including six children, have been rescued after a migrant boat capsized from the Greek island of Samos.

So far this year, more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by boat, making it the second most used route in Europe behind only Italy.

Immigrant arrivals have been on the decline since August 2023, but have picked up again since the summer, according to the data from the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

About 180,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea this year, the agency’s figures show, while 2,000 have died or gone missing. About 23% of the arrivals were children.