Seven migrants killed after boat capsizes off Turkey’s Aegean coast

İZMİR

Seven were killed after a migrant boat sank off Turkey’s Aegean coast on July 27 evening, the Turkish Coast Guard confirmed on July 28.      

Two women and five children were killed when the boat carrying 18 people capsized at around 9 p.m. near the Ceşme district of the Aegean province of İzmir. The boat was heading to the Greek islands.      

Three boats and one helicopter were dispatched by the Coast Guard in a rescue operation.    
  
Nine people, including four Iraqis, three Somalis, and two Syrians were rescued and taken to Çeşme State Hospital for treatment.      

The organizer of the migrant boat reportedly managed to escape while the boat was sinking. Police are also hunting for the fugitive organizer.      

The search for one more missing refugee is ongoing.      

Another 76 migrants, including women and children, bound for Italy were also apprehended in the Urla district on July 28, Doğan News Agency reported.

Gendarmerie stopped three minibuses in the Demirci neighborhood, apprehending 76 migrants of Syrian, Somali and Pakistani origins.

Three suspects only identified as İ.A., C.D. and S.K. who had allegedly been organizers were detained by police and the migrants were transferred to the migration directorate in the province.

Separately, an İzmir court on July 28 ordered the arrest of three Syrian suspects who had allegedly been organizing migrant smugglings.

Police stopped a suspicious minibus in the Karşıyaka district, apprehending 15 suspects who had been preparing to flee abroad through illegal means.

Three life vests and life buoys were also seized during searches inside the vehicle.

The court later arrested the three suspects following their proceedings at police headquarters.

In addition, some 46 migrants were rescued off the south of the Greek island of Samos late on July 27 from the drifting plastic boat, Doğan News Agency reported.

They were later transferred to a port on the island.