Türkiye rescues 79 irregular migrants

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Coast Guard teams rescued 79 irregular migrants Tuesday in the western provinces of Canakkale and Izmir.

In Canakkale, Coast Guard teams rescued 32 irregular migrants, including 11 children from Afghanistan who were drifting because of engine failure on their boat, and who requested help, the Coast Guard Command said in a statement.

The foreign nationals were taken to the repatriation center in the Ayvacik district after procedures.

A team was dispatched in Izmir after receiving information that a rubber boat with irregular migrants requested help and was drifting off the coast due to engine failure.

The teams rescued 30 irregular migrants, including 12 children.

And 17 irregular migrants, including eight children, in a rubber boat pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek elements were rescued by Coast Guard teams.

The irregular migrants were handed to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management after procedures.