Spike in Pakistani migrants hazarding perilous Aegean journey from Turkey to Greece
Turkish coastguards have rescued almost 18,300 migrants in the Aegean Sea in the last month
A group of migrants arrive to the shore of Kos island on a small dinghy from Turkey on August 18 , 2015. PHOTO: AFP
BODRU, TURKEY:
Over the last week, there has been a dramatic surge in the numbers of migrants - mainly from Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Africa - seeking to leave Turkey by sea for Greece in the hope of finding new lives in the European Union.
According to Turkish government figures, seen by AFP, the Turkish coastguards have rescued almost 18,300 migrants in the Aegean Sea in the last month and more than 5,275 in the last week alone.
Migrants, many of whom have paid over $1,000 to smugglers for the risky passage, are taking advantage of the calm summer weather which makes this the best time for the crossing.
Five Syrian migrants died early Tuesday when a boat taking them from Turkey to Greece capsized, reports said, with a survivor telling AFP the victims were trapped in the hull.
Read: At least 40 migrants die in Mediterranean
Turkey's official Anatolia news agency reported 24 migrants had been rescued after the fibreglass boat overturned after leaving Turkey's Bodrum peninsula for the Greek Aegean island of Kos. The corpses of five migrants from the boat were found, it added.
An AFP photographer in Bodrum saw several bodies being brought back to shore by the Turkish coastguard as the survivors looked on, swathed in blankets to prevent hypothermia, their heads bowed in despair.
Read: Pakistanis among 49 migrants who suffocated on Sicily bound boat
One of the survivors, a Syrian from Aleppo province who declined to give his name, told AFP the dead migrants had been trapped in the hull of the boat when it capsized.
Reports said the cause of the capsize was unclear but migrants who spoke to the AFP photographer said it was due to overloading.
Anatolia said that three people, including a child, were rescued from the hull by Turkish divers.
Survivors were admitted to local hospitals while the dead were taken to the morgue.
Over the last week, there has been a dramatic surge in the numbers of migrants - mainly from Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Africa - seeking to leave Turkey by sea for Greece in the hope of finding new lives in the European Union.
According to Turkish government figures, seen by AFP, the Turkish coastguards have rescued almost 18,300 migrants in the Aegean Sea in the last month and more than 5,275 in the last week alone.
Migrants, many of whom have paid over $1,000 to smugglers for the risky passage, are taking advantage of the calm summer weather which makes this the best time for the crossing.
Five Syrian migrants died early Tuesday when a boat taking them from Turkey to Greece capsized, reports said, with a survivor telling AFP the victims were trapped in the hull.
Read: At least 40 migrants die in Mediterranean
Turkey's official Anatolia news agency reported 24 migrants had been rescued after the fibreglass boat overturned after leaving Turkey's Bodrum peninsula for the Greek Aegean island of Kos. The corpses of five migrants from the boat were found, it added.
An AFP photographer in Bodrum saw several bodies being brought back to shore by the Turkish coastguard as the survivors looked on, swathed in blankets to prevent hypothermia, their heads bowed in despair.
Read: Pakistanis among 49 migrants who suffocated on Sicily bound boat
One of the survivors, a Syrian from Aleppo province who declined to give his name, told AFP the dead migrants had been trapped in the hull of the boat when it capsized.
Reports said the cause of the capsize was unclear but migrants who spoke to the AFP photographer said it was due to overloading.
Anatolia said that three people, including a child, were rescued from the hull by Turkish divers.
Survivors were admitted to local hospitals while the dead were taken to the morgue.