Authorities have confirmed that at least 14 people have drowned when a rubber boat carrying migrants sank off Turkey’s western province of Mugla a search and rescue operation is underway for possible survivors.
In a statement, the Mugla Governor’s Office said an Afghanistan man who survived the disaster and swam back to the mainland had reported the incident.
The Afghanistan national told the emergency services that 18 people had set out on the rubber boat, but that shortly afterwards it had taken on water and sunk.
The Governor’s Office said that the search and rescue teams found a second survivor who had managed to reach Celebi Island off Bodrum and they also retrieved 14 bodies from the sea.
The Aegean Sea is a frequent transit route for thousands of migrants attempting to cross from North Africa and the Middle East into Europe, particularly from Turkey which hosts millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the Presidency of Migration Management, the number of irregular migrants caught in Turkey peaked in 2019 with nearly 455,000 people, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria.and more than 122,000 migrants have been apprehended in Turkey as of October 16 this year.
