At least 22 dead including 5 children as migrant dinghy sinks off Turkey coast

15 March 2024 , 17:19

595     0

A Turkish Coast Guard helicopter scours the waves from above as 22 are feared dead after the sinking of a dingy carrying immigrants (Image: EHA MEDYA)

A rubber dinghy carrying migrants has sunk off Turkey's northern Aegean coast, killing at least 22 people, officials said.

Turkish coast guard personnel rescued two migrants from the sea off the town of Eceabat in the province of Canakkale, while two others reached the shore by themselves and notified officials, said governor Ilhami Aktas.

It was not clear how many people were on the boat when it sank and the coast guard was continuing to search the area, he said. A statement from Mr Aktas's office later said five of the dead were children. The migrants’ nationalities were not immediately known.

Eighteen rescue boats, a plane, two helicopters and a drone were involved in the search and rescue mission, the statement said. Ambulances were on standby at a nearby port, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Five of the victims are children, it has been reported (EHA MEDYA)

Although their numbers have declined in recent years, migrants mostly from the Middle East and Africa often leave Turkey to try to reach Greece in search of a better life in European countries. Some migrants leaving Turkey also attempt to sail to Italy. The Turkish coast guard said it caught at least 93 migrants attempting to leave the Turkish coast on boats this week.

Over 3,400 people killed as massive 7.8 magnitude quake rocks Syria and Turkey

On March 3, a seven-year-old girl died in the English Channel on a migrant ship that was sailing to Britain, according to French authorities. The tragedy happened shortly after 6.30am on the Aa river at the town of Watten, some 20 miles inland from Calais.

The 16 people on board the migrant boat, thought to have been stolen, were hoping to avoid police patrols, so as to enter the English Channel close to the Belgium border, and then travel onwards to the UK. The boat contained ten young children in all, as well as a pregnant women, and none were wearing life jackets, a local official revealed.

"It is a route that has been used by people smugglers before," said an investigating source. "On this occasion, the boat was overloaded and too flimsy to support those onboard, who included women and children.

Ryan Fahey