At least 10 people were killed when a boat carrying migrants sank off Turkey's southwestern coast of the Aegean Sea early Sunday morning, local NTV News reported.

The boat sank near the Bodrum Peninsular in southwestern Turkey, which is a preferred location for refugees trying to reach the Greek island Kos. The route is considered one of the shortest by sea from Asia to EU territory.

In the first five months of 2015, over 42,000 people, mostly refugees, reached Greece by sea, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. The agency said more than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, with around 2,500 refugees and migrants having died or gone missing trying to reach Europe.

Source: XINHUA