Mostly of Afghanistan origin, small boat filled with 40 illegal migrants sank 3 miles off the Northern entrance of Istanbulş Strait this morning.
Eyewitnesses said that the small boat, which had a capacity for 7-8 people at maximum, was overloaded with 40 people and sank at early hours of this morning.First incident reports were received at 05:30 local time this morning that there was a boat sinking at 3 miles off the Rumelifeneri Lighthouse that is located at the Northern entrance of Istanbul Strait. SAR boats arrived at the site but could not find any casualties.After the dawn and sea surface enlightened fishermen noticed the bodies on the sea and notified the Coast Guard.Coast Guard and Coastal Safety rescue boats arrived at the scene and recovered some 16 people alive. But what lived there was a real disaster. Bodies covered the surface of the sea mostly of children and women.A coastguard search-and-rescue vessel, seven coastguard carriers, a diving team, two coastguard helicopters, a plane from the Turkish Coast Guard and two boats from Directorate General of Coastal Safety participated in the search-and-rescue operations, the governor's office said in a statement. Search-and-rescue operations have been suspended until sunrise on Tuesday, the statement said. The Turkish Coast Guard said that 40 people were on the boat, and 12 of them were children. Earlier, Turkish Transportation Minister, Lutfi Elvan said nine passengers had Afghan passports, and that it was possible that all the passengers were from Afghanistan. Turkey is a regular transit point for undocumented immigrants trying to reach Europe.
Eyewitnesses said that the small boat, which had a capacity for 7-8 people at maximum, was overloaded with 40 people and sank at early hours of this morning.First incident reports were received at 05:30 local time this morning that there was a boat sinking at 3 miles off the Rumelifeneri Lighthouse that is located at the Northern entrance of Istanbul Strait. SAR boats arrived at the site but could not find any casualties.After the dawn and sea surface enlightened fishermen noticed the bodies on the sea and notified the Coast Guard.Coast Guard and Coastal Safety rescue boats arrived at the scene and recovered some 16 people alive. But what lived there was a real disaster. Bodies covered the surface of the sea mostly of children and women.A coastguard search-and-rescue vessel, seven coastguard carriers, a diving team, two coastguard helicopters, a plane from the Turkish Coast Guard and two boats from Directorate General of Coastal Safety participated in the search-and-rescue operations, the governor's office said in a statement. Search-and-rescue operations have been suspended until sunrise on Tuesday, the statement said. The Turkish Coast Guard said that 40 people were on the boat, and 12 of them were children. Earlier, Turkish Transportation Minister, Lutfi Elvan said nine passengers had Afghan passports, and that it was possible that all the passengers were from Afghanistan. Turkey is a regular transit point for undocumented immigrants trying to reach Europe.