21 Migrants Bodies Found on Aegean Coast

TURKEY - Turkey's gendarmerie found 21 migrants bodies at two separate locations on the Aegean coast on Tuesday after their boat apparently capsized as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos. Three of bodies is children.

As reported by Reuters, eleven of the bodies were discovered on the shoreline in the district of Ayvalik, while ten others were found in the district of Dikili. The Turkish coastguard discovered the bodies in the district of Ayvalik at around 5 am / 03.00 GMT. They rescued eight other people after a search at sea from among a total of 22 believed to have attempted the crossing, Dogan said.

Rescuers were continuing to search the coastline and sea amid fears that the death toll could rise further, a gendarmerie official in the local headquarters told Reuters.

More than 500,000 refugees and migrants entered Greece through its outlying islands last year, travelling on to central and northern Europe as part of the biggest humanitarian crisis on the continent in two decades.

Lesbos, located less than 10 km (six miles) from the coast of Turkey, has been a primary gateway for thousands of migrants crossing the European Union's outermost border, many of them fleeing civil war in Syria.

A coast guard official said three boats and a helicopter were searching for any survivors.