UPDATE - 118 irregular migrants rescued off Turkey's western coast

UPDATES WITH RESCUE OF MIGRANTS IN AYDIN; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE; EDITS THOUGHOUT

By Sabri Kesen and Gokhan Duzyol

MUGLA/AYDIN, Turkey (AA) – The coast guard teams rescued 118 irregular migrants off Turkey's western coast, authorities said on Wednesday.

According to the Turkish Coast Guard Command, the teams launched an rescue operation after they learned that two rubber dinghies with irregular migrants aboard stranded off the Datca district of Mugla province.

A group of 31 migrants, who had been pushed back by Greek forces to Turkish territorial waters, were later referred to the provincial migration office.

Also, the coast guard teams in the western Aydin province rescued 87 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece from rubber dinghies off the coast of Kusadasi district.