Seven migrants killed as boat sinks off Turkish coast

Istanbul: At least seven people, including two children, drowned when a boat carrying migrants to a Greek island sank off Turkey's Aegean coast.

The boat was carrying at least 20 refugees to the Greek island of Lesbos late Monday when it capsized near Ayvacik district of Turkey`s Canakkale province, the Haberturk daily said on Tuesday.

Thirteen migrants were rescued, Xinhua news agency reported. 

The Aegean Sea was once a main route for migrants being smuggled into Europe via Turkey, but a deal signed between Turkey and the EU in March 2016 reduced the flow of illegal migration.

The Turkish Coast Guard put the number of irregular migrants via Turkey at 9,272 since the beginning of 2018, in contrast to 4,715 over the same period in 2017.