Turkey: Rescue op underway for migrants stranded at sea

By Cem Oksuz and Esber Ayaydın

IZMİR (AA) - The Turkish Coast Guard on Thursday launched a rescue operation for as many as 68 migrants stranded on a small rocky islet in the Aegean Sea.

The migrants, including women and children, were trying to reach Greek Islands when an inflatable boat carrying them got stuck at the small islet near Dikili district of Izmir, according to a statement from the Turkish Coast Guard.

The coast guard teams have airlifted four children and efforts were underway to rescue the remaining migrants.

The migrants were provided food supplies.

Turkey has been a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, since especially the beginning of the civil war in Syria.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people have made the short but perilous journey across the Aegean to reach northern and western Europe.

Many have died at sea as a number of boats carrying refugees sank.The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued thousands.

In March 2016, Turkey and the EU signed a deal which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of some 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Since then, the number of refugees detained crossing the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece has fallen 85 percent, according to the Turkish Coast Guard.