141 migrants pushed back by Greece rescued

MUĞLA

The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued 141 migrants pushed back by Greece off the Aegean province of Muğla.

Initiating an operation upon notification that there was a group of irregular migrants in a fiber boat, a fishing boat, a life raft and a rubber boat off the coast of Bodrum district, the teams rescued a total of 141 irregular migrants, who were determined to be pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by the Greek forces.

Meanwhile, setting out to sea once again with the second notice, Coast Guard teams caught another group of 16 migrants trying to go to other countries illegally off Bodrum.

Taken to the shore, 157 migrants were handed over to the Regional Directorate of Migration Management.

Greece has pushed back nearly 42,000 asylum seekers between 2020 and May 31, 2022, according to a report published by Türkiye’s Ombudsman Institution.

The report stated that 53 irregular migrants in 2021 and 33 others in 2022 lost their lives, either drowned or froze to death, due to pushbacks.