130 migrants apprehended off Turkey’s Aegean coast

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

At least 130 migrants were apprehended off the Çeşme district in the Aegean province of İzmir as they attempted to reach the nearby Greek island of Chios on March 5, Turkish Coast Guard officials have said.      

A Turkish Coast Guard search-and-rescue ship found two boats with migrants trying to reach Greece.      

Among them were women and children from Syria, Iraq, Iran and Morocco, the officials said.      

All the migrants were later taken to the İzmir Immigration Directorate from where they are expected to be deported.      

Turkey’s five western provinces - Çanakkale, Balıkesir, İzmir, Muğla and Aydın - are prime spots for refugees leaving Turkey for the EU, with Greek islands lying within sight of the Turkish coast.      

Over the past years, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys across the Aegean Sea in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search for a better life.   
   
Hundreds of people have died at sea as a number of boats carrying refugees sank or capsized. The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued thousands of others.