Four irregular migrants who fell off their plastic boat off western Izmir province’s Karaburun district on Monday lost their lives, while the Turkish coast guard managed to rescue two.
According to a statement by the Coast Guard Command published on their official website, a coast guard helicopter, drone, ship and five boats were sent to the area after the incident was detected.
Search and rescue efforts for the missing irregular migrants, who were identified based on the testimonies of the two rescued individuals, are continuing.
Provincial Gendarmerie Command teams are also supporting the efforts.
Meanwhile, a day earlier, another 35 irregular migrants were rescued off Muğla province’s Bodrum.
According to a statement on the Coast Guard Command's website, a coast guard ship and boat were deployed to the area following reports of a group of irregular migrants on life rafts off the coast of the district.
The teams rescued 35 irregular migrants from two life rafts that had been pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces.
Following processing, the foreign nationals were handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.
“Pushback” is a controversial and illegal practice, but Greece repeatedly engaged in it, according to reports by human rights organizations monitoring migrant flow into Greece that escalated in the past decade.
Europe has traditionally been receptive to migrants, but attitudes have shifted over the past few years. For instance, in Greece, anyone caught helping migrants to shore today may face charges, including facilitating illegal entry into Greece or assisting a criminal enterprise, under a 2021 law passed as part of Europe’s efforts to counter mass migration from the Middle East and Asia.
Greece denies that it violates human rights or that it forcefully returns asylum seekers from its shores.
Türkiye boosted security along its land borders while increasing coast guard patrols amid the influx, especially in the Aegean Sea, where Türkiye and Greece, the main gateway to Europe for migrants, are littoral states.
Some migrants make the dangerous journey over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Turkish security forces stop others before crossing the border into Europe.
Over the past five years, 105,437 migrants were intercepted in Turkish seas and rescued by the Coast Guard Command as they headed into rough seas that have claimed many lives over the years.
