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The Greek Coast Guard opened fire on a boat carrying migrants near the eastern Aegean island of Symi on Friday, killing a 39-year-old migrant, authorities said.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that the man “probably died from a bullet” and that police fired at the outboard engine of the migrant boat in an attempt to immobilize it after it ignored warnings to stop.
A coast guard official told Reuters an investigation had been opened but did not elaborate. A Greek prosecutor also ordered the arrest of the coast guard officer who fired the shot and the confiscation of the weapon, a source familiar with the investigation said.
The coast guard said the boat, carrying 14 migrants – eight men, one woman and five minors – had left the coast near Turkey and entered Greek territorial waters illegally.
The Coast Guard said that when the patrol boat spotted the vessel, it accelerated and did not respond to visual and sound warnings. It then made dangerous maneuvers and approached the Coast Guard vessel, endangering the lives of Coast Guard crew members.
“To prevent the Coast Guard vessel and its crew from being put in immediate danger, police fired warning shots… followed by shots aimed at the speedboat’s outboard motor in an attempt to immobilize the boat,” the Coast Guard statement said.
The dead migrant is believed to have been from Kuwait. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.
Greece has been the gateway of choice for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia to enter the European Union since 2015, when nearly a million people landed on Greek islands, sparking an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Thousands more perished at sea.
Read more by Euractiv
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