Turkey rescued migrants left by Greece to die

ANKARA

An operation conducted by the Turkish Coast Guard to rescue 25 asylum seekers who were pushed back by Greece to die in the Aegean Sea was captured by drones.

A boat, carrying dozens of irregular immigrants, including children, that the Greek military elements pushed into Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, was detected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Nov. 9.

It was seen in the footage that two Greek coastguard ships pushed the boat carrying 25 migrants from their own territorial waters towards Turkish territorial waters.

The two ships then left the area by maneuvering that could have sunk the boat.

The migrants were rescued by Turkey’s TCSG-21 Coast Guard Boat.

Recent months have seen multiple reports of Greek forces illegally pushing back boats of asylum seekers, endangering the passengers in the process.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey earlier this year opened its gates for irregular migrants wanting to cross to Europe, accusing the EU of failing to keep its promises under a 2016 migrant deal.

Turkey currently hosts over 3.7 million Syrians, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin