At least two irregular migrants died Monday when a boat sank off the coast of Dikili in Turkey’s Aegean province of İzmir, according to coast guard sources.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, told the state-run Anadolu news agency that two migrants claimed their boat sank early Monday and that they swam to shore.
The migrants also said 13 others who were on the boat were missing.
Later on Monday, the dead bodies of two migrants, including a child, were recovered from the sea while another was rescued, sources said.
The sources added that operations are ongoing to find the 10 missing migrants.
Out of the 15 migrants, 14 were Afghan nationals, while the other was Iranian, the sources said, adding that among the migrants were three children.
On Oct. 15, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said 80,000 Afghan irregular migrants had been apprehended in Turkey in 2018 and that the number stood at 45,000 for the whole year of 2017.