Coast guards locate four dead bodies off Bodrum

BODRUM – Anadolu Agency

AA photo

Turkish coast guards recovered the bodies of four refugees off the coast of the Aegean province of Muğla late Nov. 19, Turkish Coast Guard Command sources said.

The bodies, which include two children and a woman, were sent to the morgue at Bodrum State Hospital. The deceased refugees are believed to have been part of a group of 20 who were reported missing after a boat sank off the coast near Bodrum on Nov. 18. 

The refugee boat sank in the Aegean Sea close to the island of Çatalada. Coast guards are continuing their search for more bodies in the area.

Five refugees from the same group who were rescued Nov. 18 were later sent to the Coast Guard Command in the Turgutreis neighborhood. The boat had been en route to Greece’s Kos island – one of the most popular destinations for refugees – when it sank. 

The four Turkish provinces of İzmir, Muğla, Aydın and Çanakkale, which face Greek islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, are prime spots for refugees leaving Turkey for the EU. At least 3,138 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

According to the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, the total number of arrivals in 2015 so far in Europe via the Mediterranean is now over 640,000 people.