Five people were killed after a boat carrying migrants hit a Turkish coast guard vessel off northwest Turkey on Sunday, a local governor’s office said, adding one other person, a woman was severely injured.
According to the office, a search operation was underway for a missing person.
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In a statement, the governor’s office said a high-speed boat carrying 34 migrants and one migrant trafficker hit the coast guard vessel off Ayvalik district’s Badavut coast.
“As a result of the search and rescue operations in the region, it was determined that 5 people who fell into the sea lost their lives. One person, a woman, was severely wounded and sent to hospital,” it said, adding authorities were still searching for one missing person.
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Part of the statement reads, ‘An investigation has been launched into the incident by the Ayvalik prosecutor’s office.’
The Aegean Sea is a frequent transit route for migrants attempting to cross from North Africa and the Middle East into Europe.
