Five dead as migrant boat sinks off Turkey: coastguard

ISTANBUL

At least five people, including three children, died after a boat carrying 15 migrants sank off the coast of western Turkey on Nov. 12, the Turkish coast guard said.

Two people swam to the shore and three others were plucked from the sea off the coastal town of Dikili in İzmir province after their boat sank, the coastguard said in a statement,.

One Iranian and 14 Afghan nationals were on the boat before it sank, the coast guard said, adding that search operations for the five missing people were continuing.

Turkey hosts more than three million Syrian refugees and up to 300,000 Iraqis.

Separately, Turkish security forces rounded up 73 illegal migrants including Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans and Pakistanis in the northwestern Turkish province of Kirklareli, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.

The migrants were trying to reach Europe, it added. The Kirklareli region is on the border with Bulgaria.

Turkey has been a main transition route for migrants trying to get to Europe, especially since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

The number of migrants coming to Europe has declined since the influx hit a peak in 2015 when more than a million people landed in Greece from Turkey, mainly via boats.

Turkey and the European Union reached a deal in 2016 to stem the flow of migrants, with Ankara agreeing to take back migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for incentives including financial aid.