Ten dead as migrant boat sinks off Turkish coast

Ten people drowned while 43 others were rescued after a boat carrying migrants to Greece sank off Turkey's western coast, Turkish news agency Dogan reported on Saturday.

More than one million refugees and migrants arrived by land and sea in the European Union last year and some 3,600 died or went missing.

The Turkish coast guard was continuing search and rescue efforts where the boat sank off the coast of Ayvacik, a town across from the Greek island of Lesvos. It was not immediately clear how many migrants had been on board.

Five of those killed were children, the Dogan news agency said, and rescued migrants were hospitalised with hypothermia symptoms. It said the migrants were of Syrian, Afghan and Myanmar origin.

Around 500,000 refugees from the five-year-old war in Syria traveled through Turkey and then risked their lives at sea to reach Greek islands in 2015. Despite the winter conditions and rough seas, the exodus has continued, albeit at a slower pace.

Turkey is the first stop on Syrian migrants' journey to the European Union.

Turkey struck a deal with the EU in November pledging to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in financial aid for the 2.5 million Syrian refugees it is hosting, as well as renewed talks on joining the 28-nation bloc.

related articles
Whether the UK should take 3,000 child refugees is a question of morality, not politics

Whether the UK should take 3,000 child refugees is a question of morality, not politics

EU is \'running out of time\' to deal with migrant crisis, says top official
EU is 'running out of time' to deal with migrant crisis, says top official

EU is 'running out of time' to deal with migrant crisis, says top official

Government offer to child refugees is 'absolute minimum', say campaigners

Government offer to child refugees is 'absolute minimum', say campaigners

The hateful rhetoric about refugees being terrorists has GOT to stop
The hateful rhetoric about refugees being terrorists has GOT to stop

The hateful rhetoric about refugees being terrorists has GOT to stop

Will the government do more to protect Europe\'s abandoned children?
Will the government do more to protect Europe's abandoned children?

Will the government do more to protect Europe's abandoned children?

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.