Teenage refugee dies in shootout at sea

Greek port police and members of the EU border agency Frontex engaged a group of Turkish smugglers, with the boy caught in the crossfire, a Greek official said Sunday.

"I regret the loss of life of this young person," wrote Christos Zois, a deputy minister responsible for the coast guard, in a statement.

The two sides exchanged fire off the island of Symi, after "a yacht carrying 70 migrants from Turkey's western shores tried to illegally enter (Greek waters)," according to the marine ministry.

The officials managed to halt and board the boat, and shots were fired during scuffles between the police and the suspected people smugglers.

The police arrested all three of the alleged Turkish smugglers. One of them admitted to injuring an officer after grabbing his pistol, the statement from the ministry added.

According to unofficial reports from coastguard sources, the agents discovered the 17-year-old boy below deck with a bullet would. The government did not release information on the youth's nationality.

An investigation into the incident has been launched, according to the authorities.

Greece is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants reaching its shores from the war-torn countries across the Mediterranean. Over 160,000 migrants have entered Greek territory since the beginning of the year.

Most of them intend to continue their journey across the so-called Balkan route, often traveling on foot through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, to reach Western Europe.

dj/bk (AFP, dpa)