MUGLA, Turkey

At least six people were killed and 55 others were rescued when a boat carrying illegal migrants sank near Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province Tuesday, official sources said.

According to initial reports, the vessel carried Syrian and Iraqi immigrants that sank during its journey between Mugla’s Bodrum district as it proceeded towards the Greek coastal island of Kos. State hospital sources confirm that the death toll in the incident has now reached six. 

Earlier in the day, Turkish Coast Guards rescued eight migrants after fishermen spotted the boat sinking off Kara Island, 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) away from Bodrum.

According to the Mugla Governorate’s statement, apart from the eight, rescue teams later also saved the lives of 47 other migrants, three of whom were women and four were children.

Earlier, it was believed that the migrants were about 15, but as rescuers started to look for survivors, it became evident that the numbers were much higher. Illegal migrants are often cramped into small vessels in large numbers as human traffickers send them off on a perilous journey to fulfill their dreams of reaching European coastlines.

Search-and-rescue teams backed by helicopters were on going to look for more survivors.

Turkish teams have up till now rescued 1,497 migrants and apprehended six human traffickers in about 60 incidents as part of its operations in the Aegean Sea in 2015, the statement added.