The Greek coast guard opened fire on a speedboat carrying migrants, including several children, from neighboring Turkey. The incident resulted in the death of one passenger, according to Greek authorities.

The coast guard statement said that the crew first fired shots into the air and then at the engine of the speedboat, after the helmsman rammed the Greek patrol boat in an attempt to evade arrest. When the boat came to a halt, the authorities found a 39-year-old male passenger fatally wounded, “probably by a bullet.”

The remaining 13 people on the plastic speedboat — 5 children, 7 men, and a woman — were unharmed and were taken to the southeast Aegean Sea island of Symi. Two of the men on the speedboat were arrested on suspicion of belonging to a migrant smuggling gang.

The incident highlights the ongoing tensions and dangerous conditions faced by migrants attempting to reach Greece’s eastern Aegean islands in small boats. Thousands of migrants try to make this perilous crossing every year, often paying smuggling rings to transport them across the sea.

In several previous incidents, the Greek coast guard has reported attempted rammings by smugglers seeking to escape arrest. Greece has faced widespread criticism from human rights organizations over its treatment of migrants trying to reach its shores.

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According to the United Nations refugee agency, nearly 30,000 migrants have arrived illegally in Greece so far this year from Turkey and, increasingly, from Libya in North Africa.

The number of arrivals is slightly lower than in Italy and Spain, the main destinations for migrants trying to reach Europe illegally, the situation remains a significant challenge for Greek authorities.