Coast Guard says vessel was harassed by Turkish boat

Greece’s Coast Guard said one of its vessels was harassed by a boat of the Turkish Coast Guard during a search and rescue operation off the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean on Tuesday morning.

Rescue crews were continuing their search for survivors after a boat believed to have been carrying migrants capsized off the island on Monday. Four people had been picked up – two by a fishing boat and another two by a vessel of the European border patrol agency Frontex – while eight people were reported missing. The survivors told authorities a total of 12 people had been on board the dinghy.

The Greek Coast Guard said a foreign-flagged ship, which had been asked to participate in the operation, located a body in the sea and informed a Turkish vessel sailing nearby for its collection.

When a Greek patrol vessel arrived, the Turkish boat carried out dangerous maneuvers and tried to cause damage to it, while at the same time “it displayed weapons,” the Coast Guard said. The Turkish vessel “did not offer any assistance” in the search for missing persons and “hampered the work of the Coast Guard” and the Italian Frontex vessel operating in the area, it added.

The crew of the Frontex ship recorded the incident.