Five illegal migrants have been killed trying to cross into Turkey through one of the main migration routes in Europe. Turkish authorities confirmed last night that the incident occurred when a migrant smuggling vessel slammed into a coastguard boat at high speed off the coast.
The collision forced the illegal immigrants into the sea. It was carrying 24 illegal immigrants and a people smuggler on board. Bodies have been retrieved from the sea after a search and rescue mission, with one seriously injured person rushed to hospital.
A search and rescue operation has been launched to find one immigrant, who went missing in the crash, off the coast of Ayvalik, a popular tourist destination and hub for illegal immigrants trying to cross onto nearby Greek islands.
Just months ago, the Express revealed the area was home to some of the major routes to get people into Europe illegally.
Career people smuggler, Ari, a 42-year-old Iraqi Kurd, told the Express at the time that he had managed to hide in the shadows for 20 years, despite smuggling in both Greece and Turkey, by refusing to get involved in the even more dangerous drugs trade.
But last week, the bodies of two illegal immigrants washed up on a beach on the luxurious Greek island of Rhodes.
The two victims had left Turkey and reportedly drowned while trying to cross with others through the Aegean Sea.
Greece, which is close to North Africa and the Middle East, lies at the heart of several dangerous migration routes into the EU.
The Greek migration ministry has also started preparing new laws to allow immigrants to be detained for up to two years if they try to enter the country illegally.
And the county has, in the past, been caught pushing illegal immigrants back into Turkish waters, sometimes after puncturing their boats.
