Turkey: at least 27 migrants drown as boat sinks off coast near Edremit



ANKARA: -- At least 27 migrants and refugees have died off Turkey’s Aegean coast trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, according to the Turkish coastguard.

Their overloaded boat capsized off the Turkish town of Edremit.

Eleven children were among the dead, according to the Turkish news agency, DHA.

Rescue teams were searching on Monday afternoon for 12 people believed to be missing, DHA also reported.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 68,778 migrants and refugees reached the Greek islands between 1 January and 4 February 2016 – and 374 people died making the journey during that period.

The latest sinking came as Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Ankara to discuss the migrant crisis with the Turkish government.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-09

Got to love the mandarins in Brussels who have promised big bucks, fast tracked membership etc to Turkey to get them to control their borders and with an estimated 35,000 massing on the border with Syria the mandarins have said Turkey should open the doors !

Of course none of the migrants will consider heading for Europe.

Turkey does defend its borders and it does it quite well. The Iraqi Kurds were prevented from fleeing the Saddam regime and were killed if they crossed into Turkey. Those who did cross were allowed to with the express consent of Turkey. The same applies for those fleeing from Syria. They do not get to enter Turkish territory without the permission of the Turks.

What you want is for Turkey to prevent them from leaving. Why would Turkey prevent a group of non-citizens from leaving the country?

I think the ownership of this problem is on Europe protecting it's borders and not allowing them in.

As a very general rule, countries worry about who is entering the country not those who are leaving it.

Nasty, inappropriate, inflammatory post and replies removed.

The death of these people (and many others like them) is a tragedy.

It is also the result of rewarding bad behaviour.

If the EU continues to promise these people sanctuary, free housing, money and education, as well as, apparently, the freedom to behave as they wish, then of course millions more will take these dangerous and illegal steps to break into Europe.

And there will be many more drownings.

Sorry ,but i have lost the ability to care , the poor children were killed by their parents , who were coming to Europe for the benefits ,nothing else , once you are safe away from the fighting ,any other move makes you an economic migrant ,no matter what the bleeding heart brigade say , this is just the start ,as the middle east falls further and further into the pit with the peacfull muslims trying to exterminate each other and Africa getting further into trouble with overpopulation and famine and drought,what we now see is nothing to what the west can expect in the coming decades .