Turkish authorities put the body of a child into a body bag on a beach in Bademli district of Canakkale province on Saturday. — AFP
Turkish authorities put the body of a child into a body bag on a beach in Bademli district of Canakkale province on Saturday. — AFP
Turkish Coast Guard officials recovered the bodies of women and children washed up on a beach on Saturday after yet another migrant boat trying to reach Europe sank, leaving up to 33 dead, according to local media.
In harrowing scenes reminiscent of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler photographed lying dead on a Turkish beach in September, the tiny body of a baby could be seen among those lying on a beach near the town of Ayvacik in north-western Canakkale province, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Another baby was found dead in the water.
Several other young children also drowned after the boat ferrying them and their families — some from Syria, others from Afghanistan and Myanmar — to the nearby Greek island of Lesbos sank just off the Turkish coast.
State-run Anatolia news agency said 33 people died in the tragedy, which comes two days after 25 migrants, including 10 children, drowned off the Greek island of Samos.
A further 75 people were rescued Saturday by the Coast Guard, Anatolia said.
AFP’s photographer counted at least 19 bodies. Earlier, a Coast Guard official confirmed a death toll of at least 10.
“We are sad. At least 20 friends are still missing,” a woman who was among the survivors said earlier, weeping.
The capsized boat was visible around 50 metres from the shore, where divers from the Coast Guard were still searching for the missing.
The military police in green berets placed bodies in bags to be taken to a morgue.
Life jackets and other refugees’ belongings were seen dotted around the beach.
The drownings continue the grisly trend that accelerated in 2015 when nearly 4,000 people died trying to reach Europe by sea, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
The influx, which has been fuelled by Syria’s civil war, has continued throughout the winter. During the first 28 days of 2016, a further 244 migrants died at sea.
