Dozens of migrants stranded on rocks rescued by Turkey

By Suat Salgin

BALIKESIR, Turkey (AA) - Forty-four irregular migrants stranded on rocks in the Aegean Sea were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard on Friday, according to security sources.

After running into a storm on their way to Greece's Lesbos island, the migrants sought refuge on the rocks of Mendirek off the coast of Balikesir, Turkey, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A fisherman who heard the migrants' screams called the coast guard, which rescued the migrants.

The migrants are from South Africa, Senegal, Congo, Palestine, and Mali, the sources said.

Among the migrants, a pregnant woman and her child were hospitalized, the sources added.

In recent years Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe.

Some 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.