A foreign national, a man, was fatally injured on Friday during an incident where a Greek Coast Guard boat chased of a high-speed boat transporting migrants from the Turkish coast.
According to the Coast Guard, the incident took place off the island of Symi when the high-speed boat did not observe the visual and verbal warnings by the Coast Guard.
At the same time, the handler of the boat carried out dangerous maneuvers and tried to ram the Coast Guard’s boat, threatening the lives of passengers on both vessels.
The injured man was transferred to the General Hospital of Rhodes, where his death was confirmed.
The boat with the remaining 13 foreign nationals was led to the port of Symi.
The short announcement of the Coast Guard did not clarify the circumstances under which the “foreign man was fatally injured” – as it noted – and led to his death.
Also it is not clear whether the victim was the driver of the boat or just a passenger, nor any information is given about his age and country of origin.
Later it clarified that the death of the 39-year-old immigrant was caused by a fireball.
“In order to prevent the immediate danger to the CG boat and its crew, warning shots were first fired without effect and then targeted shots were fired at the outboard engine aimed at stopping the speedboat. After the boat was stopped, a check was carried out on the speedboat, by the CG crew, where it was found that a 39-year-old man had been mortally wounded, possibly by a fireball.”
