[InTime News]
Greece’s Ombudsman’s office on Thursday urged the Coast Guard to conduct an “impartial and extensive” investigation into the death of 15 migrants in a collision between a Coast Guard vessel and a small inflatable boat off Chios this week.
The Ombudsman’s office said in a statement that it would observe the course of the investigation, offering comments on the procedure where necessary, and would issue a report of its own once the Coast Guard probe is finished.
“It is (our) long-standing position that a full and exhaustive internal investigation is important, both to ensure that basic rights are being respected … but also for the prestige of the Coast Guard,” the statement said.
The independent authority urged the Coast Guard to display impartiality in its investigation, and include evidence from Coast Guard radio conversations, as well as external sources including immigrants who survived the collision and forensic reports into whether staff on the Greek vessel used their firearms during the incident.
According to the Coast Guard, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday a patrol boat spotted an 8-meter inflatable vessel carrying about 40 migrants, and used a siren and loudspeaker to order it to stop. Instead, it accelerated and rammed the Coast Guard vessel.
The bodies of 14 migrants were recovered from the sea, while a woman later died in hospital. A search and rescue operation saved 24 people, including 11 children, who were hospitalized with fractures and internal injuries. All the migrants were Afghan nationals. A Moroccan survivor has been charged with allegedly piloting the migrant boat and migrant-smuggling.