At least 14 people drowned after a rubber boat carrying migrants sank off Turkey’s western province of Mugla early on Friday, authorities said. Rescue teams are continuing operations to locate any additional survivors.
According to the Mugla Governor’s Office, an Afghan man who survived the disaster swam back to the mainland and alerted emergency services shortly after 1 a.m. He reported that 18 people had set out on the boat before it took on water and sank.
A second survivor was later found on Celebi Island near Bodrum. Authorities recovered 14 bodies from the sea and deployed four coast guard boats, a special diving team, and a helicopter to continue the search for others who may still be missing.
The Aegean Sea remains a major route for thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa and the Middle East, particularly via Turkey, which hosts millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Turkey has apprehended more than 122,000 irregular migrants so far this year. The number of migrants passing through the country peaked in 2019, when nearly 455,000 irregular arrivals, mostly from Afghanistan and Syria, were recorded by Turkish authorities.
