Aegean Sea remains hub for illegal immigration

The Aegean Sea is still a hotbed for illegal immigration, according to figures which show over 12,000 immigrants were caught by Turkish Coast Guard throughout 2014.

Undocumented immigrants from Middle Eastern and Asian countries increasingly head to Europe from Turkey through the Aegean despite the ever-present risk of death in overcrowded dinghies.

Turkish Coast Guard captured 12,872 illegal immigrants in 2014 in 524 cases as they were trying to cross into the Greek islands located near Turkish territories by boarding small boats. An average number of 35 people were captured daily while the coast guard managed to apprehend only 74 smugglers. Immigrants pay large sums to smugglers who often abandon them halfway through the trip to escape capture.

The number of illegal immigrants captured in 2013 by coast guard was 8,047, with 6,937 of them captured in the Aegean Sea. Figures considerably rose in three years, from 2,531 in 2012.

Syrians who were displaced by four years of civil war in their country make up the majority of captured migrants. Although Turkey offers a safe haven for over 1.6 million Syrian nationals, many look to travel to Europe in pursuit of better employment. Immigrants from Myanmar and Afghanistan are also among the immigrants captured most in the Aegean Sea during their journey of hope.

Almost all trips end up with the sinking of the boats carrying immigrants as most travel in small rubber boats that are not built for long-distance travels. The boats are generally boarded by about two dozen people despite their capacity being far below that.

On Monday, a boat carrying Syrian illegal immigrants sank off the coast of Bodrum in the southwestern Turkey as they were attempting to travel to the Greek islands. Two people aboard have survived while eight others remain missing