Greece has recovered the bodies of eight migrants who fell into the sea after their speedboat collided with a coastguard boat that was pursuing it off the island of Rhodes early on Friday, the Greek coastguard said.

So far 18 people, many of them injured, have been rescued and a search operation in the area is ongoing, the coastguard said in a statement.

A Greek coastguard official said the migrant boat sailing at high speed collided with the coastguard vessel as it manoeuvred while tried to evade the officials who were pursuing it.

The captain of the boat has been arrested, the official added.

Greece, at the southern tip of the European Union, has long been a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015 nearly 1 million people landed on its islands.