At least 40 migrants, including 5 children, drown as smuggler’s boat capsizes

At least 40 migrants, including five children, have drowned in the Aegean Sea after their boat capsized off the Turkish coast. The vessel, which was en route to the Greek island of Lesbos, sank near the resort of Ayvacik. According to the Anadolu agency, 75 passengers survived and were rescued - including people from Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar. "I am afraid the numbers will rise as divers continue the search,“ Mehmet Unal Sahin, the mayor of Ayvacik, said. It is believed the boat hit rocks soon after leaving Canakkale, which lies about five miles north of Lesbos.

Local people woke up to the sound of screaming migrants and we have been carrying out rescue work since dawn.

Mehmet Unal Sahin, the mayor of Ayvacik

Some of the survivors have been hospitalised with symptoms of hypothermia. Nine people were trapped inside the capsized boat, and the Dogan news agency reports that police have arrested a Turkish man who is suspected of being the smuggler who organised the fatal journey. It follows a similar tragedy on Thursday, which saw 25 migrants drown off the Greek island of Samos. Ten of them were children. So far this year, 218 people have been killed as they attempted to make the perilous crossing from Turkey to Greece. The route is one of the main corridors for migrants and refugees hoping to enter the European Union.

migrants capsized