Boat carrying migrants sinks in Aegean, 13 missing

By Ali Korkmaz and Halil Sahin

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - A total of 13 migrants are allegedly missing off the coast of Dikili district in Turkey's Aegean province of Izmir, according to coastal guard sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said two irregular migrants claimed their boat sank early Monday and they swam to the coast, while 13 others who were on the boat were missing.

Coast guards started a search and rescue operation over the incident, the sources added.

The sources added that 14 of the migrants are Afghan nationals, one is Iranian and three of them are children.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu had said on Oct. 15 that 80,000 Afghan irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018 and the number had stood at 45,000 for whole year of 2017.

The population of Afghanistan is around 35 million people.