19 migrants including baby die after boat sinks off Bodrum

MUĞLA

Nineteen Afghan migrants, including a baby, died on April 1 when an inflatable dinghy sank in the Aegean Sea off southwestern Türkiye after it was challenged by a Coast Guard vessel, authorities have announced.

The Turkish Coast Guard said the group had been traveling in a rubber boat that "refused to stop and continued fleeing at high speed," despite warnings. The vessel later began taking on water and sank just off Bodrum.

Rescue teams pulled 18 bodies and 21 people alive from the sea, but one survivor died in hospital, raising the death toll to 19, the Coast Guard added.

Muğla Governor İdris Akbıyık told reporters that a baby was among the victims.

He said all those on board were Afghan nationals, in comments quoted by local media.

He attributed the sinking to adverse sea and weather conditions.

"Following the initial interviews with the rescued migrants, search operations are continuing for one irregular migrant who is believed to be missing," the coast guard said.

Fatal shipwrecks are common along the dangerous route between Türkiye and the nearby Greek islands, a key entry point into the European Union for migrants and asylum seekers.

In March, at least 14 migrants drowned after a boat carrying them collided with a Coast Guard vessel off Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast during a chase.

Migrant boats are often lost on the short but perilous route between the Turkish coast and the nearby Greek islands of Samos, Rhodes and Lesbos, that serve as entry points to the European Union.

In some cases, neighboring Greece is accused of pushing back migrants in a controversial practice. In the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard boats often patrol to avert migrant boats approaching Greek islands.

According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration, at least 606 migrants have been reported dead or missing on the route since the start of 2026.