Photo credit: Aljazeera
Fourteen people died after a boat carrying irregular migrants collided with a Turkish coast guard vessel off the coast of Antalya in southern Turkey early Monday, the DHA news agency reported, citing the Turkish Coast Guard Command.
Turkish Minute reports that the incident occurred off Finike, a district on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, after the vessel carrying migrants failed to comply with a warning to stop from coast guard units, according to a statement from the Coast Guard Command.
Coast guard teams detected the boat at around 2:30 am and dispatched two patrol vessels to intercept the high-speed fiberglass craft.
At about 5:00 am, the boat ignored orders to stop, changed course and struck a coast guard vessel, the statement said.
A number of migrants on board fell into the water after the collision. Fourteen died, while fifteen fled the scene in a rubber boat, reached the shore and were later detained, the coast guard said.
Antalya Governor Hulusi Sahin said later on Monday that the boat was carrying irregular migrants from Afghanistan, including women and children.
Six suspects were taken into custody in connection with the incident, the coast guard said. An investigation is ongoing.
