1 dead, 3 missing as migrant boat sinks off Turkey

A boat carrying 16 Syrian nationals sank off the coast of the Aegean Sea along western Turkey late Tuesday, leaving one migrant dead and three others missing, private Dogan News Agency reported on Wednesday. According to the report, search teams launched rescue operations on Tuesday night and managed to rescue some of the migrants who were found off the Datca district of western Mugla province of Turkey. The rescue team found the boat half-sunken, and the surviving migrants were taken to a hospital for treatment, the report said. A 50-year-old man reportedly died at the hospital, an elderly woman and two children are still missing, it added. Turkey is geographically positioned between Asia and Europe, and has become a major transit point for Middle Eastern and Asian migrants and refugees fleeing from poverty or conflict in their home countries. Turkey has taken in many refugees from neighboring Syria.