At
least 33 people drowned and 75 others were rescued after a boat carrying
migrants to Greece sank off Turkey's western coast, a local mayor and Turkish
news agency Dogan reported on Saturday.
The Turkish coast guard was continuing search and
rescue efforts where the boat sank off the coast of Ayvacik, a town across from
the Greek island of Lesvos. It was not immediately clear how many migrants had
been on board.
"At least 33 people are dead but I am afraid the
numbers will rise as divers continue the search," Mehmet Unal Sahin, the
mayor of Ayvacik, told CNNTurk news channel by phone.
"Local people woke up to the sound of screaming
migrants and we have been carrying out rescue work since dawn. We have an
80-kilometre-long coast just across from Lesvos, which is very hard to keep
under control."
At least five of those who died were children, the
Dogan news agency said, and rescued migrants were hospitalized with hypothermia
symptoms. It said the migrants were of Syrian, Afghan and Myanmar origin.
More than one million refugees and migrants arrived by
land and sea in the European Union last year and some 3,600 died or went
missing.
Around 500,000 refugees from the five-year-old war in
Syria traveled through Turkey and then risked their lives at sea to reach Greek
islands in 2015. Despite the winter conditions and rough seas, the exodus has
continued, albeit at a slower pace.
Turkey is the first stop on Syrian migrants' journey
to the European Union.
Turkey struck a deal with the EU in November pledging
to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for 3 billion euros ($3.3
billion) in financial aid for the 2.5 million Syrian refugees it is hosting, as
well as renewed talks on joining the 28-nation bloc.
Picture Credit: Reuter
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