The survivors of the shipwreck which killed 15 Afghan migrants in Greece last week have said that their dinghy 'didn't change course or ram an coastguard vessel. This contradicts the official account given by the authorities. The shipwreck occurred on the island of Chios, and 15 people were killed. The coastguard reported that two dozen other people, including 11 children, were rescued. Some of them were seriously injured.

In a statement released last week, the coastguard stated that the boat carrying migrants was sailing without its navigation lights on and had 'ignored' a patrol vessel’s warnings for it to stop. The boat abruptly changed its course when approached. It hit the coastguard vessel, and capsized.

Three survivors who were interviewed by said the coastguard had not given any warning beforehand and the dinghy didn't change its course. The survivors said that they only saw the boat as it lit up its lights just before impact.

If they had chased us, we would have stopped. One survivor stated, "We were on an inflatable with children." We were going straight. "It didn't turn right or left."

The Coastguard has not responded to any requests for comments. The coastguard has denied accusations of illegal conduct in the past.

Last week, Thanos Plevris, the Greek Minister of Migration, praised the coastguard's rescues and blamed the deaths on the smugglers. A Greek court ordered the pre-trial arrest of a Moroccan accused of being responsible for the crash.

Was not able independently to verify any of the reports. Sources close to the investigation said that the camera on the 'coastguard vessel' was not active at the time.

Since 2015, when Greece was on the frontlines of Europe's immigration crisis, border police in Greece have been under intense scrutiny. There are also allegations that the coastguard has tried to push migrant boats away from its shores.

Last year, the EU border agency announced that it was investigating 12 possible cases of human rights violations committed by Greece. This included allegations that migrants seeking asylum had been pushed away from Greece's borders. (Reporting and editing by Edward McAllister, Toby Chopra and Renee Maltezou)

(source: Reuters)