18 refugees drown, 14 saved at sea

A Turkish Gendarme leads a group of refugees to buses to prevent them from sailing off for the Greek island of Chios by dinghies, at a beach in the western Turkish coastal town of Cesme, in Izmir province, Turkey, December 1, 2015.

Fishermen who heard the migrants’ screams for help alerted the Turkish coast guard, who managed to rescue 14 people.

The boat included people from different countries including Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.

The 14-meter-long (46-foot-long) vessel sank at around midnight Friday at a spot some 3.5 kilometers (2.1 miles) off the coast of the Turkish city of Bodrum, the Dogan news agency reported.

The bodies of the dead migrants were taken to the Greek island of Leros and then to Rhodes for medical examination, according to the report.

The wave of migration across the Aegean Sea has often resulted in injuries and deaths due to either the capsizing of migrant-carrying boats or abuse of migrants by human traffickers.

Kos and other Greek islands are located only kilometres from the Turkish coast, turning them into an attractive destination for refugees seeking to enter the EU. The coast guard was not immediately available for comment.

“More than 781,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by sea since the start of the year, mostly from Turkey”, it added.

One suspect has reportedly been detained for organizing the illegal journey. Lots of have drowned within the try and reach the security of Europe.