Istanbul: Two migrants including a child died after their boat sank off Turkey’s western coast on Monday, the Turkish coastguard said, adding that a search was underway to find 10 others.
The coastguard said it rescued one migrant after two others swam to shore not far from the coastal town of Dikili in Izmir province.
Initial testimonies from the survivors revealed that the boat was carrying 15 migrants — 14 Afghans and one Iranian, the coastguard said in a statement.
The search found two bodies, one that of a child. Another child was believed to be on board.
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.
Turkey hosts more than three million Syrian refugees and up to 300,000 Iraqis.
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.
[source_without_link]AFP[/source_without_link]