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Two dead, 16 rescued after migrant boat capsizes off Turkey
ANKARA, Sept 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Two women died and sixteen other mainly
Iraqi migrants, including eight children, were rescued on Monday after their
boat capsized off the southwestern Turkish coast, the coastguard said.
The coastguard intervened to rescue the migrants after they were alerted
early morning.
They rescued 15 Iraqis and one Syrian, the coastguard said in a statement,
adding that the bodies of the two women were found.
The migrants said 19 people were on board the boat initially and the search
to find another missing woman continued, the coastguard said.
The boat had been on its way to Greece, according to state-run news agency
Anadolu.
Turkey is the world’s largest refugee-hosting country with over three
million Syrians and up to 300,000 Iraqis. It is also one of the transit
countries used by those fleeing war and poverty to try and get to Europe.
The refugee influx hit its peak in 2015 when over a million people,
including hundreds of thousands fleeing the Syrian war, landed in Greece from
Turkey, mainly by boat.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1506 HRS