Migrant Boat Sinks Off Turkey With 45 On Board

Illegal immigrants often use Turkey as a gateway to reach prosperous European Union states, mainly via Greece.

A migrant boat carrying 45 people sank off southwest Turkey and the coast guard was scouring the sea for survivors, the Turkish defence ministry said Friday. The coast guard was searching for the missing boat "after receiving a tip-off" that it sank on Thursday some 260 kilometres (160 miles) off the coast of the holiday resort town of Kas, the ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the migrants. Illegal immigrants often use Turkey as a gateway to reach prosperous European Union states, mainly via Greece.