UPDATE: 6 migrants, including 4 children, drown off Türkiye after illegal pushback by Greek forces

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, CHANGES THROUGHOUT

By Mehmet Yavas

CANAKKALE, Türkiye (AA) – Six irregular migrants, including four children, drowned in the Aegean after their boat was illegally pushed back by Greek security forces, Turkish authorities said Saturday.

Local coast guard, emergency, and gendarmerie teams rushed to help the boat with over a dozen people aboard off Ayvacik in the northwestern Canakkale province.

They saved 15 irregular migrants, while the search for one missing person is still continuing.

“A total of 15 irregular migrants (7 children and 8 adults) were rescued on the sea surface by the assigned Coast Guard boat, and the fishing vessel and dead bodies of 6 irregular migrants (4 children and 2 adults) were found,” said a Turkish Coast Guard Command statement.

“In line with initial information received from the irregular migrants, it was learned that they were intercepted by the Greek Coast Guard in the vicinity of Mytilene (Lesbos/Lesvos) Island, their inflatable boat was punctured by Greek Security Forces, and they were pushed back at a point close to Turkish territorial waters and their boat sunk as it took in water,” it added.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for migrants wanting to cross to Europe to start new lives.

Turkish authorities and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar and Dilara Hamit