Five migrants died when a dinghy sank off the coast of southwest Turkey on Saturday, the coastguard said, adding that it had rescued 11 people. Greece said five more migrants from the same wreck were found on a nearby island.
Turkey’s coastguard said it had arrived at the scene after learning that a boat was taking in water at 6.20am. It rescued 11 people, including a child, and brought them to Didim port to hand them off to health personnel.
[ Stopping the ‘small boats’ is key to Sunak’s plan to avoid electoral annihilationOpens in new window ]
The Greek coastguard said it was informed by Turkey about those rescued from a “half-sunken dinghy” in Turkish waters. It said five people were found alive on the island of Farmakonisi, some 19km (12 miles) off the coast of Didim.
Those rescued said there were a total of 31 people on the boat, the Greek coastguard added. Both the Turkish and Greek coastguards said search-and-rescue operations were continuing.
Australia’s China ties in focus as election rivals hunt for votes
Wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia caught up in one of US’s key ideological flashpoints
‘Harvard people’ squaring up for battle royale with White House over politics, power and privilege
Showdown between Reform and Labour as crucial UK byelection looms
Further west in the Mediterranean, more than 1,300 migrants have been rescued in three separate operations off the southern tip of Italy, the Italian coastguard said, two weeks after at least 74 people died when their boat hit rocks near the coast. - Reuters
