Turkish katamaran Aegean Cat hits dock in Kos, 25 injured

Aegean cat

At least 25 people were hurt when a catamaran carrying tourists crashed into a jetty on the Greek island of Kos, say reports.

Most of the tourists on board the Turkish-flagged Aegean Cat were British - five were seriously injured.

The catamaran was travelling to Kos from the Turkish town of Didim, with more than 200 passengers on board.

Officials said it may have suffered a mechanical failure before crashing into the jetty twice, damaging its hull.

"At 11.12am [local time], the ship was trying to get into the port of Kos when it crashed. We don't know how it happened," said a spokeswoman for the Greek Ministry of Mercantile Marine.

She said the Kos port authority was investigating.

The island's deputy mayor, David Gerasklis, said the boat may have suffered a mechanical failure.

It had attempted to dock once, then "returned with greater force and crashed into the dock for a second time", he told the Associated Press news agency.

"Some of the passengers apparently got up to see what happened, and they were injured in the second crash," he said.

The most seriously injured reportedly suffered broken limbs while others had bruising or cuts from broken glass. None of the injuries was life-threatening.

Mr Gerasklis said the injured had been taken to hospital while the remaining passengers had disembarked safely.

A coastguard spokesman told the AFP news agency there were no reports of adverse weather at the time.