Coastguard vessel and migrant boat collide in Lesbos leaving seven refugees including baby dead

Seven refugees - including a baby and three children - drowned when their wooden boat collided with a coastguard vessel off the coast of Lesbos.

Some 31 refugees were rescued from the crash on Thursday.

No other details about the victims or the incident were released by authorities.

Harrowing pictures showed rescue personnel lifting the bodies of children out of the water.

Thousands of refugees, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan attempt to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Lesbos on a daily basis.

ITV News travelled to the tiny Greek island earlier this week and witnessed dozens and dozens of boats arrive in under three hours, with volunteers and local authorities overwhelmed by the sheer volume of arrivals.

Survivors are seen on a rescue boat. Credit: Reuters
A body is carried from the beach. Credit: Reuters
Thousands of refugees arrive in Lesbos on a daily basis. Credit: Reuters