Some 24,000 migrants rescued in Turkish waters last year: Ministry

ANKARA

Security forces and Coast Guard units rescued approximately 24,000 migrants in Turkish seas last year, while 20 lost their lives on perilous routes, the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry has announced.

According to data shared by the ministry's General Directorate for Maritime Affairs on Feb. 12, the recorded number of illegal migrant incidents requiring search and rescue operations in Turkish seas was 836 in 2023. A total of 23,977 migrants, most of whom were pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greece, were rescued, while 11 migrants were reported missing, the data said.

The Turkish authorities have accused Greece of large-scale pushbacks, summary deportations and denying migrants access to asylum procedures.

Marking 2010 as the initiation year of the migrant influx witnessed by Türkiye and the European Union member countries due to the onset of the Syrian Civil War, the ministry noted that over the span of 13 years, more than 184,000 migrants have been rescued in Turkish waters.

During these operations, teams discovered the bodies of 923 migrants, and 503 individuals were recorded as missing.

The number of illegal migrant incidents increased 23-fold from 2010 to 2023, the ministry stated.

Between Jan. 17 and 22, seven bodies washed ashore in the southern province of Antalya within six days, and one in the neighboring city of Muğla. The authorities discovered that these bodies were linked to the boat carrying 90 migrants, whose connection was lost as it sailed from the coastal region between Lebanon and Syria towards Cyprus on Dec. 11, 2023. The bodies were presumed to have drifted to the shores of the southern city, while the clothing on the lifeless bodies originated from Syria.

Subsequently, the bodies of the five other migrants on the same boat washed ashore on the coasts of Northern Cyprus. With the Turkish Interior Ministry stepping up its efforts to prevent illegal migration, Minister Ali Yerlikaya earlier emphasized that the primary operational target in maritime illegal migration is human traffickers.

The Mediterranean has transformed into treacherous waters, chosen by clandestine migrants compelled to abandon their countries in Asia and Africa due to factors like deadly wars, conflicts and economic crises, as they seek refuge in European countries.