The coast guard on Wednesday caught 38 irregular migrants while saving another 14 off western Izmir province’s Seferihisar district.

According to the Coast Guard Command, reports of a group of irregular migrants on a rubber boat off the coast of Seferihisar were received, after which a coast guard boat was subsequently deployed to the area.

Teams intercepted the rubber boat and apprehended 38 irregular migrants, 11 of whom were children. One suspect, suspected of being a migrant smuggler, was detained.

Meanwhile, 14 irregular migrants on a rubber boat that had been pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces off the district's coast were rescued.

Following processing, the irregular migrants were handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.

Türkiye once hosted two-thirds of the world's total Syrian refugee population. At its peak, there were more than 3.8 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye.

Some preferred to cross into Europe illegally in pursuit of better lives. In the early years of the Syrian civil war, Türkiye housed thousands of refugees in tent camps and container cities in its southeastern towns, but over time, most refugees settled elsewhere, setting up new lives, particularly in big cities in western Türkiye.

Türkiye boosted security in its land borders while coast guard patrols were increased amid the influx, especially in the Aegean Sea, where Türkiye and Greece, the main gateway to Europe for migrants, are littoral.

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. Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.

In some cases, neighboring Greece is accused of pushing back migrants in a controversial practice. In the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard boats often drive out to approach migrant boats to the Greek islands.

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.