By Leyla Ataman 

ANTALYA, Turkey

Nine migrants died and six others were rescued after a speedboat sank in the Turkish Mediterranean, the Turkish Coast Guard said early Sunday.

The incident took place last night around 2.22 a.m. local time (Saturday GMT2322), near Kekova Geyikova Island, two-and-a-half miles southwest of Demre, in the coastal province of Antalya, the coast guard command said in a statement.

 After a fishermen alerted the coast guard to the emergency, four boats, one plane, and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene, the statement said. 

Six migrants were rescued, but the coast guard found nine who had drowned. 

The six rescued migrants are in the hospital for treatment, Murat Uz, a local official in Demre, told Anadolu Agency.