The forensic investigation into the deaths of 15 migrants following the fatal maritime incident off Chios has been completed, with DNA samples taken to enable the identification of the victims. A team of four forensic pathologists and three mortuary technicians travelled to the island yesterday.
Arrangements were also made with funeral services to transfer the bodies to the Schisto Cemetery near Athens, where they will be preserved until identification is completed and the remains can be released to relatives. According to the forensic report, all 15 victims sustained severe head injuries that proved fatal. Media reports citing the findings indicate that the bodies bore significant trauma to the head and chest.
Charges have been brought against a Moroccan national identified by survivors as the alleged smuggler operating the speedboat. A prosecutor attended Chios General Hospital on Thursday, 5 February, to formally present the charges, which include causing a shipwreck and facilitating the illegal transport of migrants resulting in 15 deaths. According to his legal representatives, the accused is expected to request time to prepare his defence before giving testimony in the coming days.
Regarding the injured, officials report that all 24 migrants who survived are now out of danger, with some expected to be discharged from hospital within the day. Three individuals remain in intensive care, but their condition has stabilised, and at present there are no plans to transfer them to medical facilities in Athens.
As investigations continue, witness accounts suggest that more than 40 people were on board the speedboat at the time of the incident. Concerns remain that not all passengers have been accounted for, with reports indicating that a father at Chios hospital is searching for his missing child, who has not been found among either the injured or the deceased.
An internal administrative inquiry has also been ordered into the circumstances of the tragedy. The investigation will be conducted by a senior officer from the headquarters of the Hellenic Coast Guard, who will take statements from the four coast-guard officers involved.
A volunteer diver told LiveNews: "There were many bodies inside the boat. We were trying to see if there were any vital signs in each one we pulled out—there was none."
Questions have been raised over the use of thermal-imaging equipment aboard the coast-guard vessel. Official sources stated that while the vessel was equipped with a thermal camera, it was not deemed necessary to deploy it, as the speedboat had already been detected by land-based surveillance cameras and visually identified using a searchlight.
A detailed report by the coast-guard commander claimed that the speedboat was travelling at high speed without navigation lights from the Turkish coast, ignoring visual and audio signals to stop. According to the account, the operator attempted evasive and dangerous manoeuvres, resulting in a collision that capsized the vessel and threw all passengers into the sea.
With information from ERT, LiveNews and AMNA
