A collision between a speedboat and a tourist vessel off the Saronic Gulf island of Aegina near the Greek capital Tuesday left at least three people dead and injured another four, the country’s coast guard said.
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An eight-meter-long speedboat rammed into a tour boat, cut it in half and turned it over.
Three of the victims are Greek but the fourth, a man, has not been identified.
Among the casualties were the captain of the tour boat, a 5-year-old girl and a man who has not been identified yet.
The five injured were transferred to Athens, two of them with serious injuries, an official at the local health centre told Reuters.
It is unclear how many people were on the speedboat. The circumstances of the collision remain unclear.
Greek authorities were alerted by a phone call to emergency services by one of the boat’s passengers, who said there were about 53 people on board and that the vessel was experiencing mechanical problems.
Less than an hour away from Athens by boat, Aegina is a top destination for both Greek and foreign visitors in summer. Other people may still be missing, the mayor of Aegina, Dimitris Mourtzis, told Skai TV.
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Excursions run daily in waters between Aegina’s port of Perdika and Moni, an unihabited islet with a popular sandy cove and wildlife, including deer and peacocks.
