Three individuals perished, and four individuals remain unaccounted for following an incident involving a migrant vessel in distress in the Aegean Sea as reported by the Turkish coastguard. A total of 38 individuals were successfully rescued when the inflatable rubber boat began to take on water near the coastline close to the popular western resort of Izmir, according to a statement from the coastguard.
The tragic event occurred in the vicinity of Foca, approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Greek island of Lesbos, a frequently chosen transit point for migrants aiming to enter the European Union. The coastguard has confirmed that search efforts are actively underway to locate the four irregular migrants who are currently missing, with various vessels and helicopters being deployed for the operation.
Since the beginning of the year, the UN migration agency has reported that a minimum of 524 migrants have lost their lives or gone missing in the Mediterranean. In the previous year, the agency documented 1,873 cases of missing or deceased migrants who undertook the perilous journey across the sea.