At least 18 migrants drowned on Wednesday when their boat capsized off the coast of Bodum, Turkey, according to reports from Turkish officials and international media. The incident occurred as the vessel attempted to evade the Turkish Coast Guard in rough seas near the Greek island of Kos.
Turkish authorities stated that the boat, carrying Afghan migrants, ignored repeated warnings to stop and attempted to flee at high speed. The vessel began taking on water in choppy conditions and eventually capsized. A helicopter participated in rescue efforts that saved at least 20 other migrants from the water.
The boat, carrying Afghan migrants, ignored repeated warnings to stop and attempted to flee at high speed.
Governor Idris Akbıyık of Muğla province, where Bodum is located, confirmed that all the migrants were from Afghanistan and that victims included a baby. The sinking occurred in the Aegean Sea, a common but dangerous migration route where people attempt to reach Greek islands from the Turkish coast.
The incident was part of a deadly day in Mediterranean migrant crossings, with separate reports of 19 migrants dying off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy, from hypothermia. According to the UN's International Organisation for Migration, 624 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean so far this year.
All the migrants were from Afghanistan and that victims included a baby.