18 migrants drown after boat sinks off Turkey’s southwestern coast

Eighteen people have drowned off the southwestern coast of Turkey when a vessel carrying refugees sank late Friday, according to the Turkish Coast Guard.

Fishermen hearing the migrants’ screams of migrants alerted the Turkish coast guard, who picked up the bodies from the sea after the wooden boat carrying migrants from Iraq, Pakistan and Syria capsized about 3.5 km off the coast.

APA reports quoting local media that 14 people were rescued.

An elderly refugee throws candy in the air shortly after she and other crossed the Aegean sea on a dinghy from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Lesbos, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.

Two people, suspected of organising the journey, are said to have been detained.

The refugees included Syrians, Pakistanis and Iraqis, AFP reported.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 781,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by sea since the start of the year, mostly from Turkey.

Some 800,000 asylum-seekers have reached Greece from Turkey so far this year – an astonishing number that has strained the resources of the financially strapped nation.

The IOM estimates the one million mark will be reached by Tuesday, more than four times the total of 240,000 crossings by land and sea into Europe past year.