Türkiye rescues over a dozen irregular migrants off its Aegean coast

Türkiye has rescued 18 irregular migrants and apprehended another group of the same size in multiple operations.

Eighteen migrants were brought ashore after their boat began drifting in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Ayvacik district in northwestern Türkiye's Canakkale province after its engine failed, said the Turkish Coast Guard on Wednesday.

After the Coast Guard's North Aegean Group Command detected the inflatable watercraft, it dispatched a vessel to the area, where it rescued 18 migrants of Yemeni and Syrian nationality.

The migrants were subsequently taken to the Ayvacik Removal Center after processing.

In another operation further south, 37 irregular migrants, including two children, were intercepted off the coast of Cesme district in Izmir province, also on the Aegean Sea coast.

After official procedures by authorities, the migrants were handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.