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Turkish Coast Guard forces intercepted 82 irregular migrants and rescued 10 others during coordinated operations off the Aegean coast near Izmir province, authorities announced.
In waters off Seferihisar, Coast Guard vessels stopped a fiber-hulled rubber boat carrying 41 irregular migrants, including 17 children. The migrants were brought ashore and processed by authorities, according to a statement posted on the Coast Guard Command's website.
Separate incidents unfolded in Cesme district, where Coast Guard aircraft first spotted a group of migrants on land. Coast Guard anti-smuggling teams and support units deployed to the area and apprehended 23 irregular migrants, eight of whom were children.
Coast Guard drones later identified 10 additional migrants, including one child, at the Ucburun location within the same district. The unmanned aerial vehicles subsequently detected another group aboard a fiber boat in Cesme waters, prompting the dispatch of patrol boats to the scene.
Eight irregular migrants, including two children, were apprehended from the intercepted vessel. Two suspects aboard the boat were taken into custody on charges of human smuggling, marking the enforcement component of the broader operation.
In a separate rescue operation, Coast Guard teams responded to a distress call from a rubber boat experiencing engine failure off the Cesme coast. The 10 irregular migrants aboard the disabled vessel were successfully rescued.
Following processing procedures, all detained migrants were transferred to the Provincial Migration Management Directorate. The operations highlight ongoing efforts by Turkish authorities to combat irregular migration routes across the Aegean Sea, a key transit point for migrants attempting to reach European Union territory via nearby Greek islands.
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