Boat sinks off Turkey's Aegean coast, 12 migrants drowned
Xinhua, January 21, 2016 Adjust font size:
At least 12 illegal migrants drowned and 28 others were rescued Thursday after their boat sank off the Aegean coast of Turkey, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The boat, bound to Lesbos Island of Greece, capsized off Foca town of western Izmir province, said the report, adding that the bodies of the victims were found by coast guards. The search and rescue work is still going on for other missing migrants.
Four women, including one pregnant, and five children were among the killed, private Dogan News Agency reported.
Most of the migrants were Iraqi, and the boat sank after they were out of fuel, according to the report.
Turkey is geographically positioned between Asia and Europe, making it a major transit point for Middle Eastern and Asian migrants and refugees fleeing from poverty or conflict in their home countries.
Most of the migrants were Syrians who were fleeing their war-torn homeland and trying to reach Europe through Turkish territory.
About 400,000 refugees have illegally entered Greece via Turkey in 2015, but more than 3,000, mostly Syrians, have lost their lives in boat accidents across the Aegean. Endit