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18 refugees drown in Aegean off Turkey

Xinhua, December 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 18 refugees drowned and 14 others were rescued on Friday evening when their boat capsized off Turkey's Aegean coast, private Dogan news agency reported on Saturday.

The boat was carrying Syrian, Pakistani and Iraqi refugees to the Greek island of Kalimnos when it sank off Turkey's Aegean resort town of Bodrum of Mugla province, according to the report.

Turkish coast guards found 18 bodies of the refugees and rescued 14 refugees, and sent them to hospitals in Bodrum, said the report.

Turkish coast guards have held around 500 so-called "hope mongers," who were carrying out smuggling activities in Turkey during the last five years.

Some 80,000 refugees have been rescued off Turkish coasts this year alone, while more than 3,000 died on their way to Greek islands via Turkey, the Turkish coast guard said.

Over 600,000 refugees have reportedly reached Greek islands so far this year, in a crisis that has alarmed the European Union. Endit