Search continues for those missing from migrant boat

The death toll, which was initially announced as 20, climbed to 24 when more bodies were retrieved from the sea hours after the boat sank early Monday.

Ten of the 24 bodies retrieved from Monday's Bosporus boat accident belonged to children, according to a new statement by the Directorate General of Coastal Safety.

The 24 dead also included 10 men and four women, the statement said, adding that six migrants were safely rescued. A total of 43 people, including the boat's Turkish captain, were on board when the boat sank at the Black Sea entrance to the Bosporus Strait in İstanbul on Monday -- implying that 13 people remain missing. All 42 passengers were of Afghan origin. Search and rescue squads are still combing the waters to find the remaining 13.

The statement also said that Turkish authorities were alerted of the incident at 2:51 a.m. on Nov. 3 and search and rescue boats were immediately dispatched to the scene. They failed to find the endangered boat and returned to their base, however.

Five hours later, the directorate received a new call from fishermen regarding the same boat, which was three miles out at sea. Search and rescue efforts were once again initiated after the second call, according to the statement.

Local fishermen complained that their initial calls to the authorities for assistance were not fully investigated. They said rescue teams were dispatched to the area at around 8 a.m., after they made a second call saying there were multiple bodies in the water.

Darkness posed a challenge to efforts to locate those still missing and a Coast Guard vessel equipped to operate at night was the only ship used in search efforts on Monday night. More crews resumed the operations yesterday morning, combing the sea in the company of local fishermen and helicopters.

Many illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East pass through Turkey to get into the European Union, often traveling in unsafe boats.

The Bosporus strait, which bisects İstanbul, is one of the world's busiest waterways; it's a vital route for Russian oil and other commodities as it is the only outlet to the world's oceans from the Black Sea.

Turkish media reports that an aggressive crackdown by the Coast Guard against human traffickers and illegal immigrants in the Aegean Sea in Turkey's west coast has forced both groups to change their course and set out from Istanbul, a rarely preferred route. A large number of illegal immigrants were captured before they left several Istanbul ports aboard shoddy boats in the past month, but the 12-meter long boat that sank off Rumelifeneri managed to evade authorities. The media reported that smugglers were paid TL 7,000 ($3,153) for each person aboard and they charged migrants with extra fees for lifejackets. However, they turned out to be faulty, as corpses were found with lifejackets that were not inflated, according to accounts of eyewitnesses.

Experts and eyewitnesses attribute a number of causes to the accident, primarily overcrowding. Citing cracks on the boat's hull, some claim a bigger vessel crushed the boat since it was traveling without lights to avoid detection by the Coast Guard. On the other hand, locals claim smugglers deliberately sink boats after safely fleeing aboard another boat tailing the one carrying the illegal immigrants.

As the search continued, another case of migrants escaping death was reported yesterday in Marmaris, a southwestern Turkish town in the province of Muğla. Twelve illegal Syrian immigrants that were attempting to cross to nearby Greek islands aboard a small boat were stranded at sea, clinging onto the wreckage of their capsized boat, before Coast Guard officials rescued them. Turkish authorities also captured 33 illegal immigrants from Iraq, Syria and Myanmar yesterday in border villages of the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne as they attempted to cross into Greece and Bulgaria on foot.

Turkey, located in a region connecting Asia and Europe, is a main gateway for illegal immigrants pursuing a better life in European countries. Although strict security measures are taken on the borders, it still faces an influx of migrants who risk their lives and pay their scarce, hard-earned cash to smugglers for entry into Greece and Bulgaria, which border Turkey. Those who lost their lives in Monday's accident on the Bosporus were reportedly heading to Romania, located further away from Turkey's two neighbors.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said after the accident that illegal immigration was one of the basic problems facing both Turkey and the entirety of Europe, especially countries with coastlines facing the Mediterranean Sea. He said they would take all measures to stop illegal immigration so to prevent people from losing their lives.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

http://www.todayszaman.com/latest-news_10-children-among-victims-in-migrant-boat-tragedy-say-authorities_363629.html

http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/11/05/search-continues-for-those-missing-from-migrant-boat