ISTANBUL: Twenty-one migrants including five children drowned after a boat capsized off the Turkish coast, local officials said on Friday.
The victims' nationalities were not yet known. Officials said two people were rescued by the Turkish coastguard and another two managed to make it out of the water on their own.
The boat capsized off Turkey's largest island, called Gokceada or Imbros, which is located in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the northwestern province of Canakkale.
“Security teams found the bodies of 21 people including five children,“ local governor’s office said in a statement.
The search and rescue operation was backed by one plane, two helicopters, one drone, 18 boats and 502 personnel, it added.
Turkey is hosting nearly four million refugees, mostly Syrians.
Ankara struck a deal with the European Union in 2016 to curb the influx of refugees trying to reach the EU in return for financial assistance and other incentives. -AFP
