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Sixteen migrants and a smuggler drowned after their inflatable boat capsized early Friday in the Aegean Sea near Bodrum, Turkey, according to the coast guard. Two others were rescued alive. The authorities have not disclosed the victims’ nationalities. The incident marks the latest tragedy among a series of migrant deaths along the narrow but dangerous route between the Turkish coast and Greek islands such as Samos, Rhodes, and Lesbos, which serve as entry points into Europe.
“The bodies of 16 illegal migrants and a trafficker have been recovered,” the coast guard reported, noting that rescue operations are ongoing. Earlier, the local governor’s office had reported 14 migrant deaths and stated on social media that one migrant had managed to alert rescue teams.
One of the survivors, an Afghan, told rescuers that their boat sank just ten minutes after it started taking on water. He said he swam for six hours to reach Celebi Island. Authorities have not confirmed the nationalities of the other migrants. Bodrum is located less than three miles from the Greek island of Kos.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing with four coast guard vessels, a specialized diving team, and a helicopter involved. The Aegean Sea is a common transit route for thousands of migrants fleeing North Africa and the Middle East, especially from Turkey—home to millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
In 2019, Turkey’s migration authorities recorded nearly 455,000 irregular crossings, mostly from Afghanistan and Syria. According to the Missing Migrants Project run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), almost 1,400 migrants have died trying to reach Europe by sea this year. Turkey, which signed an agreement with the European Union in 2016 to curb illegal migration, currently hosts more than 2.5 million refugees, predominantly Syrians.
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