At least eight people – including a child – drowned after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized in the Aegean Sea during a chase by a Greek patrol vessel.
The Coast Guard said the boat's driver “lost control” in an attempt to escape the patrol vessel.
The boat was traveling at high speed and collided with the board of a Greek coast guard vessel as it tried to escape, according to local media reports.
So far, 18 people have been rescued from the sea, the coast guard said, with many of the survivors suffering from injuries after the incident.
Friday's incident happened near the island of Rhodes, off the Turkish coast, along a route often used by migrant smugglers.
A helicopter and Coast Guard vessels are continuing to search for other survivors.
Greece's shipping minister, Christos Stylianidis, expressed his “deepest sorrow” at the loss of life, saying his aim was to tackle “ruthless” people smugglers who sacrifice lives for profit.
Thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe by boat die in the Mediterranean every year.
Last month eight people, including six children, were pulled out after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Samos.
So far this year, more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by boat, making it the second most used European migrant route after Italy.
Migrant arrivals have steadily declined since August 2023, but have increased again since the summer, by data from the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR.
Some 180,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea this year, agency figures show, while 2,000 people are dead or missing. About 23% of the arrivals were children.