Speedboat kills 4 in Greece

Witnesses said the impact of the speedboat split the excursion boat into two parts, tossing its occupants into the water, before it sank on Tuesday.

Local media said the speeding boat's driver claimed to have seen nothing as he approached. He was detained for further questioning.

Among the dead reportedly were a nine-year-old girl and the tour boat's captain, who, according to a Greek tabloid newspaper, tried to avoid the crash by honking his horn.

"I saw a small girl, whom they tried to reanimate, but she didn't react," said the witness.

On board the eight-meter-long speedboat were three people.

Five injured persons were transferred to Athens, two of them with serious injuries, said a health official.

Victims mostly Greeks

A coast guard official said most of those rescued were Greek nationals. Private vessels and a helicopter joined patrol boats in the search for further victims.

Aegina is a popular destination for both Greek and foreign visitors, about half an hour away from Athens by boat and lying in the Saronic Gulf.

"The situation is tragic. I cannot understand how something like this can happen," Aegina's Mayor Dimitris Mourtzis told the Greek broadcaster Skai.

Excursions run daily in waters between Aegina's port of Perdika and Moni, an unihabited islet with a popular sandy cove and wildlife, including deer and peacocks.

ipj/rc (dpa, Reuters, AP)