Nine die after migrant boat capsizes off Turkish coast

Seven children and two women were killed after the rubber boat sank

Discarded lifejackets lie on the beach of the island of Lesbos. Large numbers of migrants have attempted to use the Greek islands as a means into Europe. Photograph: Messinisaris Messinis/AFP/Getty
Discarded lifejackets lie on the beach of the island of Lesbos. Large numbers of migrants have attempted to use the Greek islands as a means into Europe. Photograph: Messinisaris Messinis/AFP/Getty

A boat carrying migrants has capsized off the Turkish coast in the Aegean sea, killing seven children and two women.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says four other migrants were rescued from the rubber boat that sank early on Thursday off the resort of Kusadasi.

There was no information on the nationalities of the migrants, who were attempting to reach one of the Greek islands near Kusadasi.

Kusadasi district administrator Muammer Aksoy told Anadolu the bodies have been recovered and no further migrants are reported missing.

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Many migrants continue to attempt to reach the Greek islands from the Turkish coast, hoping to eventually move to more prosperous European Union countries.

Others try to cross the river that runs along the land border between the two countries. – AP