At least seven people have been found dead off Turkish Aegean Coast, authorities said on Tuesday.
A tragic incident unfolded on Tuesday as a life raft carrying migrants crashed into rocks near Cesme on Turkish Aegean coast. According to the Turkish coast guard, at least seven people aboard lost their lives in the accident.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported that nineteen individuals, including children, were rescued from Turkey’s Izmir Province, while efforts are ongoing to locate one missing person. The rescue operation involved one helicopter, four coastguard vessels, and a diving team.
The Turkish coast guard asserted that the life raft had been pushed back into Turkish waters earlier by the Greek coastguard, as stated by some of the rescued migrants.
Earlier in the day, the coast guard responded to reports of migrants stranded on a small Turkish island near Izmir. A fisherman initially rescued one person from the sea, with the coast guard subsequently rescuing 18 others from the island. One individual remains unaccounted for.
Smugglers operating along the Turkish Aegean coast routinely endanger migrant lives in attempts to transport them to Greece, an EU member state. The Turkish coast guard intercepts migrant-carrying boats nearly every day, particularly during the summer season.
This incident underscores the perilous journey migrants face and the ongoing challenges in maritime border control and migrant safety in the region.
