Three Syrian refugees –19-year-old woman, a 30 year-old man and a 45-year-old man –were injured yesterday during a Coast Guard operation to arrest a Turkish trafficker, in the maritime area between Chios and Inousses.
The Coast Guard claims that the specific trafficker had transferred refugees from Turkey to Chios about an hour and a half before the arrest operation and that the trafficker was planning on transferring a total of 32 refugees over two trips.
According to the Coast Guard report, the Hellenic authorities located a speed boat carrying four people that was headed towards Inousses and attempted to stop it with warning signals and whistles. The speed boat’s captain initially attempted to escape and then tried to ram the Coast Guard’s craft.
During the altercation the Coast Guard claims that its officers fired warning shots in the air in order to protect themselves and immobilize the speed boat. The speed boat’s captain however persisted and the coast guard officers fired towards the vessel’s bow, injuring the three Syrians from ricochets.
As soon as the speed boat was finally immobilized, the Coast Guard boarded the vessel and discovered that aside from the three injured refuges on deck, there 13 more in the cabin and four more in the stern. The speed boat’s captain was arrested.
Although initial reports suggested that shots were also fired from the speed boat, no weapons were found, however the trafficker easily may have disposed of his weapon prior to his arrest. The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the event.
