58 dead after boat sinks in Turkey
September 7th, 2012 - 12:00 am ICT by IANSAnkara, Sep 6 (IANS) At least 58 illegal immigrants, including nine children, trying to enter Europe, drowned Thursday when their boat sank off western Turkey, a media report said.
According to Turkey’s NTV news channel, the boat carrying more than 100 people who had been promised refuge in Europe by smugglers sank after hitting rocks off the Aegean coast, Xinhua reported.
Some 50 survivors, mostly from Iraq and Syria, managed to swim to the shore. The captain of the boat and his assistant were rescued and detained, the report added.
The boat’s passengers, who were allegedly trying to enter European countries illegally, were mostly women and children.
Search and rescue efforts were underway to retrieve the remaining bodies, the report added.
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Tags: aegean coast, ankara, europe, european countries, illegal immigrants, iraq, ntv news, rescue efforts, rocks, search and rescue, sinks, smugglers, survivors, syria, western turkey, xinhua