Seven migrants killed, nine rescued in capsized boats in Aegean Sea

ÇANAKKALE – Anadolu Agency

AA photo

Four migrants, including three children, were killed in the Aegean Sea after they sailed from the northwestern town of Ayvacık on Jan. 15.

Some 13 migrants sailed from the Ayvacık district of the Çanakkale province heading to the Greek islands on a boat. Their boat capsized in the sea and four migrants were found dead. The Turkish Coast Guards and fishermen rescued nine other migrants in multiple operations. The Coast Guards initially recued eight people.

At the Ayvacık State Hospital it was revealed that Salih Abbasi, 14, was still missing. The officials continued searches and found Abbasi alive. When he was brought to the shore, he was reunited with his father, Ali Abbasi.

Earlier that day, three refugee children died when a dinghy capsized off the Greek island of Agathonisi near Turkey’s Didim coast. According to the Greek coast guard, 20 other people were rescued from the dinghy.  
   
Turkey’s five Aegean provinces - Çanakkale, Balıkesir, İzmir, Muğla and Aydın - are prime spots for refugees leaving Turkey for the EU, with the Greek islands lying within sight of the Turkish coast.

Over the past year, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys across the Aegean in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search for a better life. Worsening weather conditions in the winter make the trip even more dangerous.

An estimated 805 people died in Aegean Sea in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 847,000 reached Greece via the Aegean Sea, accounting for 80 percent of the refugees arriving irregularly in Europe by sea in 2015.

According to the U.N.’s refugee agency, more than 950,000 people in total have reached Europe by sea in 2015.