Istanbul May 15 (IANS) At least seven people including two children drowned when a boat carrying migrants to a Greek island sank off Turkey s Aegean coast.
The boat was carrying at least 20 refugees to the Greek island of Lesbos late Monday when it capsized near Ayvacik district of Turkey s Canakkale province the Haberturk daily said on Tuesday.
Thirteen migrants were rescued Xinhua news agency reported.
The Aegean Sea was once a main route for migrants being smuggled into Europe via Turkey but a deal signed between Turkey and the EU in March 2016 reduced the flow of illegal migration.
The Turkish Coast Guard put the number of irregular migrants via Turkey at 9 272 since the beginning of 2018 in contrast to 4 715 over the same period in 2017.

--IANS soni/mr