Sixteen dead as migrant boat sinks off northern Cyprus

ANKARA (Reuters) – Sixteen people died when a boat carrying around 160 migrants sank off the coast of northern Cyprus, and rescuers were searching for at least 30 other people, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu said on Wednesday.

It said 101 migrants had been rescued by Turkish and northern Cypriot coast guards, helped by commercial boats in the area.

Tolqa Atakan, transport minister in northern Cyprus, a breakaway state recognized only by Turkey, was quoted by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet as saying the coast guard was still searching for 30 people and that it was not immediately clear how many people had been on the boat.

Hurriyet, without citing sources, said the boat had been detected by radar on Tuesday night but sank early on Wednesday morning. Turkey’s coast guard was not immediately available for comment.

In 2015, Turkey became one of the main launch points for the dangerous sea leg for more than a million migrants seeking to reach the European Union, many fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union sharply reduced the flow of refugees into the bloc, after thousands died crossing from Turkey to Greek islands a few miles offshore.

From January to May this year, at least 26 migrants died trying to cross to Europe from Turkey, according to coast guard statistics.

Mediterranean arrivals to the bloc, including refugees making the longer and more perilous crossing from North Africa to Italy, stood at 172,301 in 2017, down from 362,753 in 2016 and 1,015,078 in 2015, according to data from the United Nations.