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Turkey captures 333 illegal migrants sailing to Italy

Xinhua, January 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkish coast guards caught 333 migrants Sunday on a merchant ship off southern Turkey while they were trying to sail to Italy, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.

Four Turks and 11 Syrian refugees were arrested over an operation by coast guard's Mediterranean region command, said Turkey's mersin governor's office in a written statement.

The coast guard unit launched an operation on the merchant ship with four boats, one helicopter and one plane after the boat sailed from the Mediterranean port of Mersin.

The coast guards also captured another fishing boat that attempted to escape with the illegal migrants who were aiming to embark the ship.

The Turkish coast guard captured 1,754 illegal migrants in Mersin province in 2014.

Turkey is geographically positioned between Asia and Europe, and has become a major transit point for Middle Eastern and Asian migrants and refugees fleeing from poverty or conflict in their home countries. Endit