E-Paper

UAE

Life and Living

World

Opinion

Business

Sports

Entertainment

Dubai World Cup

lifestyle

Travel

Reviews

Brands

Supplements

KT Events

KT APPDOWNLOAD

18 migrants drown as boat sinks in the Aegean

Top Stories

UAE announces 2-month grace period for residence visa violators

UAE announces fee refund for tax service charges from August 1

Paid parking in Dubai: Residents face up to Dh4,000 extra yearly costs when new rates kick in
18 migrants drown as boat sinks in the Aegean
A Greek coastguard vessel uses a light to spot migrants arrive on an overcrowded dinghy from Turkish coast during a patrol operation near the port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesvos.

Ankara - 14 people including Syrians, Iraqis and Pakistanis were rescued by the Turkish coastguard.

By AFP


  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Sat 19 Dec 2015, 4:46 PM

Last updated: Sat 19 Dec 2015, 6:52 PM

Eighteen people drowned overnight when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea as it was heading for the Greek island of Kalymnos, Turkish media reported early on Saturday.
Another 14 people, among them Syrians, Iraqis and Pakistanis, were pulled to safety by the Turkish coastguard, the Dogan news agency reported.
They were taken to hospital in serious condition, suffering from hypothermia, the agency said.
The migrants had left the southwestern Turkish resort of Bodrum during the night on board an old vessel which capsized around two nautical miles off Turkey's coast, survivors said.
Some 650,000 migrants, often from Iraq and Syria, have tried to cross the Aegean Sea this year in search of better lives in the European Union.
But an estimated 500, including many children, have died during the often perilous crossing.
EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday set an end-of-June deadline to agree on a new border and coastguard force to slow the influx of migrants across the 28-nation bloc's porous external frontiers.
Leaders also urged EU ambassadors to arrange for the rapid delivery of a promised three billion euros ($3.25 billion) in aid for refugees in Turkey in return for its help in stemming the flow.


More news from