Istanbul [Turkey], September 24: At least one illegal migrant died and 46 others were rescued on the Agean Sea on Friday after their life raft broke down, according to the Turkish Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said in a written statement that the incident occurred at around 3 a.m. local time (2400 GMT) due to engine failure, and soon after, the life raft carrying migrants started to drift off.
According to the statement, the coast guard teams received a distress signal originating nine km off the western city of Izmir and immediately sent a rescue boat.
Gaining additional information from the migrants rescued, the Coast Guard continued the search with the help of two additional boats and a helicopter and found the body of a dead migrant.
Reports by local media indicate that the search and rescue efforts are continuing for at least one more illegal migrant.
The number of migrants on board and their destination are not immediately known.
In the past week alone, more than 343 illegal migrants were caught off the Aegean Sea, according to local media. The Interior Ministry stated that over 81,000 illegal migrants had been deported since the beginning of the year, with 15,000 more awaiting deportations in the processing centers.
Türkiye, a country of over 80 million, hosts more than 4 million refugees and is one of the leading refugee safe havens in the world. Some migrants come to Türkiye, fleeing from conflict in the surrounding region, while some aim to journey illegally further from Türkiye into Europe.
However, deteriorating global economic conditions have tested Türkiye's ability to provide for all the refugees and the illegal migrants it takes in, which led to tighter border control policies coupled with an increased rate of deportations.
Source: Xinhua
