Tragedy Strikes as Migrant Boat Sinks off Turkey’s Aegean Coast

A rubber dinghy carrying migrants sank off Turkey’s northern Aegean coast, killing at least 21 people. Turkish coast guard personnel rescued two migrants from the sea off Eceabat in Canakkale province, while two others reached the shore by themselves.

The number of people on the boat was not clear, and the coast guard is still searching the area. 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.

Despite a decline in migrants’ numbers, migrants from the Middle East and Africa often leave Turkey to seek better lives in Greece and Italy. The Turkish coast guard caught at least 93 migrants attempting to leave the Turkish coast on boats this week.