Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis expressed his deep sorrow over the deadly incident involving refugees and migrants in the seas off Kos early on Wednesday, when a coast guard vessel rammed into a dinghy carrying 34 foreign nationals.
The dinghy capsized resulting in the death of a three-year-old boy from Syria, while six were injured and a man was still missing.
Prosecuting authorities on the island and local authorities were immediately informed of the incident.
According to information from coast guard sources, the dinghy had no night-time navigation lights and those on board were not wearing life jackets, while both vessels were in motion when they collided.
Three coast guard vessels, a private vessel, a super puma helicopter and a frontex vessel are searching the area to locate the missing man. A squad from the coast guard underwater missions unit is also on the scene.