Istanbul:

Twenty-one migrants including five children drowned after a boat capsized off the Turkish coast, local officials said on Friday.

The victims’ nationalities were not yet known. Officials said two people were rescued by the Turkish coastguard and another two managed to make it out of the water on their own.

The boat capsized off Turkey’s largest island, called Gokceada or Imbros, which is located in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the northwestern province of Canakkale.

“Security teams found the bodies of 21 people including five children,” local governor’s office said in a statement.

The search and rescue operation was backed by one plane, two helicopters, one drone, 18 boats and 502 personnel, it added.

Turkey is hosting nearly four million refugees, mostly Syrians.

Ankara struck a deal with the European Union in 2016 to curb the influx of refugees trying to reach the EU in return for financial assistance and other incentives.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jerusalem:

A rubber boat washed up on a beach in Israel on Sunday with no one on board, only what appeared to be the belongings of would-be migrants.

Israeli authorities said they found the dinghy along the Mediterranean coast near the city of Netanya with nothing but a messy pile of personal items, food, water, and travel documents, including three from Somalia.

Police said they were searching the waters nearby for signs of survivors and released a photograph of the boat. What looked like clothing, an air pump and several makeshift, inflatable lifebuoys were among the items that covered the boat’s floor.

The travel documents are still being investigated, the police said.

According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration, more than 187,000 people crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, and the group has recorded 2,093 deaths along the central Mediterranean route.

The migrants often make the perilous crossing in small, unstable boats. Many come from Africa, fleeing conflict or in search of a better life in Europe.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)