Survivors dispute Greek coastguard account of fatal migrant shipwreck

ATHENS, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Survivors of a shipwreck that killed 15 Afghan migrants off Greece last week said that the dinghy they were in did not change course or ram a coastguard vessel, contradicting the official account by authorities.

Fifteen people died in the shipwreck off the island of Chios on February 3. Two dozen others, including 11 minors, were rescued, some of them seriously injured, the coastguard said. 

The coastguard said in a statement last week that the migrants’ boat was sailing with its navigation lights switched off and that it ignored a patrol vessel’s warnings to stop. When approached, it abruptly changed course, hitting the coastguard vessel and capsizing.

However, testimonies from three survivors, reviewed by Reuters, said that the coastguard did not offer any prior warning and that the dinghy did not change course. They said they only saw the coastguard boat as it turned on its own lights shortly before impact. 

“If they had chased us we would have stopped. We were on an inflatable boat with children,” one survivor said. “We were just going straight. It didn’t turn left or right.” 

The coastguard did not respond to requests for comment. It has previously denied allegations of illegal practices. 

Migration Minister Thanos Plevris last week praised the coastguard for the rescues and blamed the deaths on migrant smugglers. A Greek court has ordered the pre-trial detention of a Moroccan man accused of causing the crash. 

Reuters was not able to independently verify any of the accounts. The camera on the coastguard vessel was not activated at the time, sources close to an investigation into the incident said. 

Greece’s border policing has come under scrutiny since 2015 when the country was at the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis. This includes allegations of so-called “pushbacks” in which the coastguard tried to force migrant boats away from their shores. 

The EU border agency said last year that it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece, including some allegations migrants seeking asylum were pushed back from Greece’s frontiers.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Edward McAllister and Toby Chopra)