World

Greek, Turkish patrol ships collide near disputed islets

Greek navy office says there was no damage and nobody was hurt

Afp January 17, 2018

Coastguard boats inspect the area where four people, including a nine-year-old girl, died and at least five were injured after a boat with about 20 people on board collided with a speedboat off the Greek holiday island of Aegina close to Athens. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

ATHENS: A Greek gunboat on Wednesday collided with a Turkish patrol boat near a disputed islet group in the Aegean, the Greek navy said.

"It was probably owing to an error on the part of the Turkish vessel," a Greek navy source told AFP.

"The vessels' sides came together. There was no damage and nobody was hurt. The incident is over," the officer added.

The incident occurred near the uninhabited Imia islets, just off the Turkish coast and a historic flarepoint in a long-running demarcation dispute.

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A year ago, Greece's military bristled after a Turkish navy patrol boat fired shots during manoeuvres in the area, which Athens considers Greek waters.

The Imia islets -- called Kardak in Turkey -- lie just seven kilometres (4.5 miles) from Bodrum.

A row over their sovereignty islets flared in January 1996, when the two countries sent marines to two neighbouring islands in a sign of an imminent armed confrontation.

They then withdrew their troops after heavy diplomatic pressure by the United States, a fellow member of NATO.