Advertisement
A rubber dinghy carrying migrants sank off Turkiye’s northern Aegean coast on Friday, killing at least eight people, officials said. Turkish coast guard personnel rescued two migrants from the sea off the town of Eceabat in Canakkale province, while two others were able to reach the shore by themselves, Gov. Ilhami Aktas said. It was not clear how many people were on the boat when it sank and the coast guard was continuing to search the area, he said. Aktas said two of the recovered bodies were infants.
The migrants’ nationalities were not immediately known. Although their numbers have declined in recent years, migrants mostly from the Middle East and Africa often leave Turkiye to try to reach Greece in search of a better life in European countries. Some migrants leaving Turkiye also attempt to sail to Italy. The Turkish coast guard said it caught at least 93 migrants attempting to leave the Turkish coast on boats this week.