Patrol boats and divers were deployed whilst a helicopter surveyed the area from above. Officials confirmed that the bodies of 14 people – 11 men and three women – were recovered from the water, The Mirror reports.

A further 25 migrants, including approximately 11 children, were rescued and taken to a hospital on Chios, alongside two coast guard officers who sustained injuries in the incident.

One of the injured women subsequently died in hospital, the coastguard added.

The Greek coast guard said it remained unclear how many people had been aboard the speedboat, prompting the search and rescue operation to locate any potentially missing passengers.

Footage broadcast by a local news outlet showed at least one person being carried in a blanket from a coast guard boat moored alongside a jetty into a waiting coast guard vehicle with blue flashing lights, whilst others appeared to guide two children towards the car.

There is no further information on precisely how the collision occurred.

Michalis Giannakos, the head of Greece’s public hospital workers’ union, said staff at the hospital in Chios were all on alert to manage the sudden influx of injured and were on standby for potentially more arrivals.

Mr Giannakos said on Greece’s Open TV channel that several of those injured required surgery.