Refugee casualties in Turkish Aegean drop to zero

By Ramazan Ercan

IZMIR, Turkey

Refugee casualties in the Turkish sector of the Aegean Sea dropped to zero in April according to coast guard data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

The drop in deaths follows a European Union-Turkey deal which aimed to breaking people-smuggling gangs which have been trafficking refugees and migrants across the Aegean to nearby Greek islands.

According to figures obtained from Turkish Coast Guard officials, no casualties occurred in Turkish waters in April 2016.

In March, a total of 32 people were killed, whereas 38 died in February and 103 lost their lives in January.

However, five people -- including a child -- were killed when a boat sank off the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean on April 9.

The desperate journeys made by migrants and refugees hit their peak after some European countries announced they would take in thousands of people.

According to Turkish Coast Guard figures, in 2015 a total of 279 migrants lost their lives in the Aegean Sea, mainly through using unsafe vessels, such as plastic boats.

January 2015 was the only other month in which no casualties occurred in the Aegean. However, from then until April this year a total of 452 people died in dangerous journeys.

Over the past year, thousands of people have made short-but-perilous attempts to cross the Aegean in a bid to reach Greece, before going on to northern and western Europe.

The EU-Turkey agreement allows for the return of “irregular migrants” to Turkey from Greece in exchange for Syrian refugees to be relocated within the EU.

*Anadolu Agency correspondents Ahmet Sait Akcay and Servet Gunerigok contributed to this story from Ankara.