Migrant boat capsizes off İzmir

IZMIR

The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued 19 irregular migrants whose boats had capsized off the coast of the western province of İzmir, with teams recovering the bodies of seven others, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said.

Authorities received a report from a fishing vessel at 10:47 a.m. on July 9, indicating the presence of migrants in the sea near Çeşme, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.

An operation was swiftly initiated involving helicopters and diving teams, resulting in the rescue of 18 migrants, with an additional migrant saved by the fisherman, Yerlikaya said.

Local authorities reported that one migrant remains unaccounted for, and search efforts are ongoing to ascertain his location.

Nearly 30,000 migrants have been declared dead or missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the past decades, according to the United Nations figures.

The Turkish Coast Guard Command rescued more than 25,000 irregular migrants pushed back from Greece in the Aegean Sea in 2023 alone, the Doctors Without Borders earlier said. Türkiye is a major gateway for migrants seeking a new life in Europe.