A search and rescue operation is still underway. The total number of refugees involved is not yet known.
Turkey’s Aegean provinces – Canakkale, Balikesir, Izmir, Mugla and Aydin – are prime spots for refugees leaving for the EU, with many Greek islands lying within sight of the Turkish coast.
Over the past year, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search of a better life.
Nearly 135,000 migrants or refugees have crossed into Greece and Italy since the beginning of 2016, according to the International Organization of Migration (IOM). Of the 134,905 migrants who have already crossed the Mediterranean this year, as of March 3 some 125,819 have reached the Greek islands, while the others landed in Italy. Media reports indicate that arrivals in Spain in 2016 are fewer than 100.
Of the more than 1.1 million refugees who arrived in the EU last year, more than 850,000 arrived by sea to Greece from Turkey, according to the IOM. Over the course of the year, 805 people died in the Aegean.
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