At least 10 people were reported missing after a boat carrying refugees sank off the southwestern coast of Muğla province yesterday, Coast Guard Command sources said. Five Syrian refugees were rescued and sent to the Coast Guard Command in the Turgutreis district.

The boat had been en route to Kos - a Greek island and one of the most preferred refugee destinations - when it sank.

One search-and-rescue aircraft and boat were sent to the area when the Coast Guard were notified about the incident by fishermen.

The four provinces of İzmir, Muğla, Aydin and Çanakkale, which face Greek islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, are prime spots for refugees leaving Turkey for the EU. At least 3,138 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, the total number of arrivals in 2015 so far in Europe via the Mediterranean is now more than 640,000 people.