Turkish authorities on Tuesday found the dead bodies of at least 36 migrants, including several children, washed up on beaches and floating in the sea off its western coast after their boats sank while crossing the Aegean Sea to European Union (EU) member Greece.
The tragedies, the deadliest so far reported in the Aegean in 2016, come as the EU seeks to push Turkey to halt the flow of migrants across its borders in exchange for financial help.
A spokesman for the Turkish coastguard told AFP that the bodies of 36 migrants had been found, including 29 recovered by the Turkish gendarmerie and seven by the coastguard.
It was not immediately clear how many boats had sunk in the high seasonal winds although the Dogan news agency said at least two separate incidents were involved.
The dead bodies were found either washed up on the beach near the resort of Ayvalik or in the sea nearby, Dogan said. Eight more migrants had been rescued.
Among those found dead was a woman who was six months pregnant.
Images published by Dogan showed the small corpses of children, fully dressed and wearing shoes, lying on the beach with their life-jackets still on.
Video footage showed Turkish security forces lifting other bodies from the waves in the shallows on the shore.
In a second disaster, seven migrants were found dead off the resort of Dikili just to the south, it added. The victims there also included women and children, Dogan said.
