Turkish Coast Guard saves 47 migrants on drifting boat

By Burak Akay and Erdal Turkoglu</p> <p>CANAKKALE / HATAY, Turkey (AA) – Nearly 50 irregular migrants, adrift at sea and near drowning, were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard on Thursday.</p> <p>The Afghan-origin migrants were in the sea off Gokceada in Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, headed to Greece, when their rubber boat lost power.</p> <p>Then the boat started taking on water, putting the 47 migrants — including nine women and 23 children — at serious risk of drowning.</p> <p>Fortunately, they were able to reach a Turkish Coast Guard hotline, which led to their rescue.</p> <p>The migrants were later taken to provincial migration directorates.</p> <p>Separately, a group of 47 Syrian migrants who illegally crossed to Turkey were held by security forces in rural Altinozu in the southern Hatay province.</p> <p>The migrants were later taken to the local gendarmerie office.</p> <p>Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.</p> <p>Some 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.</p> <p>