Overcrowded boat carrying illegal immigrants sinks off Turkey after sailing less than 100 meters; 61 dead

AHMETBEYLI, Turkey (Reuters) - At least 61 migrants including Palestinians and Syrians, more than half of them children, died after their overcrowded boat sank just tens of meters off Turkey's western Aegean coast on Thursday, officials said.

Tahsin Kurtbeyoglu, governor of the coastal district of Menderes in Izmir province, told Reuters an initial investigation showed the small vessel sank around dawn due to overcrowding.

Its destination was unclear but the small Turkish town of Ahmetbeyli from where it set out is only a few kilometers from the Greek island of Samos. Greece is a common entry point for migrants trying to get into the European Union.

"The total death toll is 61, including 12 men, 18 women, 28 children and three babies," the governor's office in Izmir said in a statement.

Turkish media said the reason the death toll was so high was because the women and children were in a locked compartment in the lower section of the vessel, although there was no official confirmation of this.

Kurtbeyoglu said 46 people had so far been rescued alive, including the ship's Turkish captain and assistant, who had been placed under arrest. He said there were no bodies left on the boat and he did not expect the death toll to rise any further. [...]

Television footage showed small boats and diving teams searching for survivors just off Ahmetbeyli. The boat sank less than 100 metres (110 yards) from the shore after leaving at around 5:30 a.m. (02:30 GMT), officials said.

More...