At Least 14 Migrants Die as Boat Sinks Off Turkey

Nearly 220,000 people reached Europe by sea in October, almost equal to the total number of migrants who arrived during 2014, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

Turkey’s state-run news agency says 14 migrants drowned when their boat sank off the Turkish northern Aegean coast of Ayvacik. The migrants’ nationalities weren’t instantly known. “Should there be another Aylan for the world to take notice?” “Humanity is watching from the sidelines”, AFP quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on hearing of the latest tragedy. “The boat probably sank after hitting rocks”.

Coastguard workers backed by helicopters were still continuing a search for those unaccounted for, the news agency said.

Turkey has surpassed North Africa as the main launching point for migrants heading to Europe, and now hosts more than 2.2 million refugees from the war in neighboring Syria.

The coastguard said fisherman rescued another 22 from the boat off Izmir, while the hunt was going on for two missing.

In Malta, European and African leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss the migrant issue, with the EU hoping that pledges of cash to a few of the world’s poorest countries will help discourage others from making the journey.

Since the start of the year, the organization has recorded 653,075 migrants arriving in Greece and 512 migrant deaths in the Aegean region.

In October, European Union leaders agreed to provide $3.4 billion in financial aid to Turkey and activate the process of establishing visa-free European Union travel for Turkish citizens.