Osman Uras / Muğla, August 3 () - Off the Aegean resort town of Bodrum, 18 illegal migrants of Syrian origins, have swam ashore in their life jackets, to survive after the boat crossing from Bodrum to Greek island of Kos has taken water on and then ran aground, locals reported.
The Bodrum District Police Department has spotted that after having laid 15 meters off the coast, the fibre boat heading to Greece went aground and some air rafts were being prepared, off the Kabakum coast of Ortakent-Yahşi neighbourhood.
Some 18 illegal migrants have swum ashore in their lifejackets to survive. A group of 48 Syrian migrants including nine women and 11 children were caught. The group, including disabled people, were brought to the police station after the incident. An operation was launched to find the organizers of this attempt to carry a group of illegal, after the police have found three inflatable boats, motorboats, some foot pumps and some fuel, within the police’s investigation at the coast.
In recent years, Aegean provinces of Turkey have become some of the most favoured routes for migrants seeking to illegally enter the European Union, as Turkey share borders with Syria and Iraq and EU countries including Bulgaria and Greece attracting illegal migrants.
