Autopsies on the 15 people who died in last week’s deadly boat collision off the Greek island of Chios found that all victims succumbed to severe head injuries during the impact between two vessels, not from drowning, according to forensic findings.

The results add new urgency to an ongoing investigation into the circumstances of the crash, which involved a migrant smuggling speedboat and a Greek coast guard vessel. The incident, which occurred Tuesday, ranks among the deadliest maritime accidents in the area in recent years.

A special team of four forensic pathologists and three technicians conducted the examinations on the island under a crisis management protocol activated by the Justice Ministry. Authorities also collected DNA samples to help identify the victims. The bodies have since been transferred to a cemetery facility near Athens, where they will remain until they are returned to relatives.

At the same time, a formal administrative inquiry led by senior coast guard officials is examining how the collision unfolded. A central question remains which vessel struck the other first, with two sharply differing accounts under review.

The coast guard maintains that the smuggler’s speedboat ignored signals to stop, struck the coast guard vessel, and then capsized and sank. However, two public figures who visited injured survivors at a Chios hospital said some migrants, speaking through an interpreter, claimed that a vessel appeared in the dark, turned on a spotlight, and passed over them.

Search operations for missing persons are ongoing. A helicopter equipped with thermal cameras is scanning the area, while additional aircraft and naval vessels remain on standby to assist if requested by the national search and rescue center. Authorities have also designated the search zone as an official rescue area as efforts continue to locate any survivors or victims.