A serious incident with one dead occurred this morning in Samos when migrant smugglers transported 31 migrants in an inflatable boat to the northern shores of the island.

The Coast Guard located the vessel and attempted to prevent it from entering Greek territorial waters.

The traffickers, trying to escape, made dangerous maneuvers.

They failed to enter Greek territory and threw the 31 migrants into the sea.

The Coast Guard managed to pick up three migrants, while the remaining 27 managed to swim to a rocky shore, where they emerged unharmed.

Unfortunately, one man did not make it, losing his life by drowning.

The two traffickers were arrested by the authorities and the operation to identify the migrants temporarily housed in a structure is ongoing.

The announcement of the Coast Guard

In the morning hours today, the Port Authority of Samos was informed by a camera of the ground monitoring station of the L.S.-EL.AKT. for the existence of a high-speed (T/X) vessel with foreigners on board, which was moving towards the northwestern coast of Samos. A patrol vessel of the L.S.-EL.AKT. (PLS) went to the area where he spotted the T/X and tried to immobilize it using sound and visual signals. However, the operator of the T/X did not comply with the instructions of the PLC and tried to escape. A pursuit ensued during which the T/X operator repeatedly performed dangerous maneuvers putting the physical integrity of the PLS crew at immediate risk. Warning shots were then fired in a safe area resulting in the immobilization of the T/X and the arrest of its foreign operators.

Following information from the Police Directorate of Samos, twenty-seven (27) foreigners were found on land whom the two traffickers had thrown into the sea before the pursuit of T/X. The foreigners managed to get to the coast of Samos under their own power and are in good health.

But as they stated, there were other people in the sea. Immediately, two high-speed vessels of the Greek Army with passengers and an officer of the L.S.-EL.AKT, a Floating Vessel of the Coast Guard as well as a vessel of the Hellenic Rescue Team/Samos Branch went to the area in order to locate them.

After an extensive search, they were located in the sea and an additional three people were collected, as well as a man’s body. A private volunteer boat with a diver went to the area and carried out searches for any people in danger with negative results.

A total of 30 foreigners were rescued (15 men, 7 women and 8 minors). The rescued people and the body were taken to the port of Karlovasos while an autopsy was ordered to be carried out at the General Hospital of Samos.

The two arrested foreigners, operators of the high-speed boat, are citizens of Turkey and were recognized by the rescued as their traffickers. They are charged with the felony of transporting third country nationals to Greece, an act that resulted in the death of a person (Article 25 § 1 f. D. Law 5038/2023), disloyalty (Article 169), dangerous interference with transportation (Article 291 PK) and illegal entry into the Country, while the T/X vessel was seized.