Four people have been killed, including a nine-year-old child, and four more injured in a collision between a speedboat and a tourist vessel in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, the Greek coastguard and local media said.
About 20 people were on the tourist boat, which was taking holidaymakers from the island of Aegina, 19 miles from the Greek capital, to a popular beach on the nearby uninhabited island of Moni, Kathimerini reported.
Three bodies, including the captain of the tourist boat, the child and a male passenger were recovered from the water and 21 people rescued, including the four injured, a coastguard official said.
Divers later found a fourth, unidentified body on the seabed, To Vima reported. Other people may still be missing, the mayor of Aegina, Dimitris Mourtzis, told Skai TV. “It’s such a small passage of water, just a few minutes distance,” he said.
A navy helicopter, three coastguard patrol boats and several fishing and leisure craft nearby searched the area for several hours after the accident, which happened shortly after 1pm local time (2pm GMT).
According to survivors, the powerful eight-metre launch ploughed at high speed into the small tourist boat, which broke in two and capsized, spilling its passengers into the water.
Two of the injured were in a serious condition and were transferred by helicopter to Athens. Two more, along with a several passengers suffering from minor injuries and shock, were treated at the Aegina health centre.
To Vima said that police and the port authorities were questioning the speedboat’s three occupants, including its owner.
Aegina, an hour by ferry from Athens, is a favoured destination for both foreign and Greek tourists thanks to its proximity to the capital. Moni, a 15-minute boat ride away from the island’s harbour of Perdika, has a sheltered, sandy beach, sun loungers for hire and a small restaurant.
