Refugee Boat Capsizes: 4 People Die, 6 People Missing

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A boat carrying 15 refugees, including three children, capsized off the coast of Dikili in İzmir today (November 12).

While two people could swim to the shore and three people were rescued during the search and rescue operations, the deceased bodies of four people, two of whom were children, were found.

The search and rescue operations of the Coast Guard teams have still been continuing for the other six missing refugees.

15 people were on board

Two refugees, who managed to swim to the coast of Dikili, told the security forces that the boat, where they were also on board, had capsized.

The refugees also indicated that there were 15 refugees in total on board, 14 of whom were from Afghanistan and one of them from Iran. They also stated that three of the refugees were children.

One person displaced in every 2 seconds in 2017

According to the Global Trends 2017 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2017, one person was displaced in every 2 seconds. Accordingly, the number of refugees around the world has reached 70 million people.

In the Aegean Sea, 806 refugees lost their lives im 2015, 434 refugees lost their lives in 2016 and 61 refugees lost their lives in 2017.

As announced by the UNHCR, since the beginning of 2014, over 10 thousand refugees lost their lives in the Aegean and Mediterranean. (TP/SD)

* Photograph: Anadolu Agency