Twelve bodies were found on Turkey’s western coast and 26 people were rescued on Tuesday after a boat carrying migrants bound for Greece capsized, the Turkish coastguard said in a statement.
Responding to a distress signal sent in the early morning near Izmir, the coastguard found the bodies of at least five children according to Dogan News Agency.
The coastguard said a helicopter and three boats were still searching for others.
All of those who died, which also included one pregnant woman, came from Iraq and had tried to sail from Aliaga in Izmir province to the Greek island of Lesbos, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said the European Union must fulfil its promises as part of a deal struck at the end of November in which Turkey promised to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the European Union.
