Migrant bodies and boat found

TURKISH search-and-rescue teams yesterday located the wreck of a boat that was reported missing in a lake in eastern Turkey with up to 60 migrants on board, officials said.

The boat was reported missing in Lake Van in stormy weather on June 27. Authorities estimated the boat was carrying between 55 and 60 migrants when it went down. Thirteen bodies have been found.

Search teams, using underwater imaging devices, found the wreck 106.5m deep inside the lake, the regional governor’s office said, adding that an effort was under way to recover the wreckage and any bodies inside.

The lake is close to the border with Iran but lies within Turkey’s borders.

Authorities believe smugglers are transporting migrants across the lake to avoid several police and military checkpoints in place on the traditional transit routes used to smuggle migrants that cross into Turkey from Iran.

The migrants are reportedly from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.