Turkey detained three more suspects Friday over the sinking of a migrant boat in Lake Van and recovered another body from the eastern lake but are still searching to locate the sunken vessel.

Among the suspects was a man named Medeni Akbaş, who managed to swim ashore as the vessel sank.

The boat is believed to have been carrying up to 60 migrants when it sank, and authorities had recovered six bodies by Wednesday, according to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

He said 11 suspects were arrested on human smuggling charges.

Some 45 gendarmerie personnel, health professionals and rescue personnel participated in the search and rescue operation and recovered the body of one more migrant, a report by Demirören News Agency (DHA) said.

Soylu said authorities immediately launched a rescue operation after they were informed of the incident on June 28.

Meanwhile, Van Governor’s Office rejected claims that the boat has been found.

"We have recovered the bodies of seven foreign nationals in search and rescue operations so far. ... Press reports claiming that the sunken boat has been discovered are not true," the statement by the Governor’s Office read.

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the number of irregular migrants arriving in Turkey has declined.

However, more than 21,000 migrants have reached Van so far this year, Soylu said Wednesday.

Of them, 16,000 were denied entry, but 4,500 managed to enter through illegal means, he said.

Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.