24 October 2018•Update: 24 October 2018
By Meric Urer, Mehmet Toktas, Erdal Turkoglu and Ilker Gurel
IZMIR, Turkey
At least 48 irregular migrants have been rescued in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's western coast, said security sources on Wednesday.
The migrants, including 15 women and three children, requested help from the Turkish Coast Guard when their rubber boat started taking in water off Urla in the Izmir province, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.
Among the migrants were Congolese, Central Africans, Senegalese, and Palestinians.
Separately, border guards in Altinozu and Yayladagi in the southern border province of Hatay spotted two groups of migrants trying to illegally enter Turkey.
Twenty Syrians were held in Yayladagi while 31 others were held in Altinozu.
In the northwestern Edirne province, security forces held four migrants during a roadcheck in Kesan. The migrants were found in a truck trailer.
Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.
