Boat driven by 15-year-old ‘captain’ carrying 11 Afghans seized in Aegean Sea

MUĞLA

The 11 Afghan migrants on board included four children and a woman who is eight-months pregnant. DHA Photo

Less than a week after a migrant boat disaster off of Istanbul’s coast, the Turkish Coast Guard seized a boat off the shores of the Aegean port of Bodrum carrying 11 Afghan refugees to the Greek island of Kos late on Nov. 5.

The “captain” driving the boat was only a 15-years-old boy, while another young man helping him was 17 years old, officials have said, adding that both were Turkish nationals.

The migrants who took the risky sea route on the 5-meter-long boat included four children and a woman who is eight-months pregnant.

The boat was detected by a patrol ship before it was able to draw away from the coast.

Death toll climbs to 25 in migrant boat disaster

Meanwhile, the death toll from the recent migrant boat accident in Istanbul’s Bosphorus has climbed to 25 after the body of a child was found by Turkish coast guards, as rescue efforts entered their fourth day on Nov. 6.

The boat is believed to have been carrying 42 Afghan refugees and a Turkish captain, and 12 people who were on the boat are still being searched for. Officials have also stated that 11 of the victims were children, while four were women.

Two suspects were detained late on Nov. 4 in the investigation into the boat. Turkish media claimed that the suspects were a Turkish and an Afghan citizen accused of organizing human trafficking around Istanbul.