Fifteen migrants were killed in the Aegean Sea off the Greek coast on Tuesday after their boat collided with a Greek coast guard vessel near the island of Chios, the coast guard said.

A coast guard official said authorities spotted an inflatable boat carrying migrants heading toward Chios, an island just a few miles from the Turkish coast, and ordered it to turn back.

The official said the person steering the boat manoeuvred toward the coast guard vessel, causing the collision.

The coast guard said 25 migrants were rescued, but one woman later died from her injuries, adding that search and rescue operations were still under way.

A second coast guard official told Reuters that two coast guard officers were injured and taken to hospital. No details were provided on the migrants’ nationalities.

A government official said witnesses reported that between 30 and 35 people had been on board the boat.