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Six dead as migrant boat sinks off Turkey

Six people have drowned in European waters amid calls for action over the vast tide of illegal immigration from the Middle East and Africa.

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Source: AAP


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Six people, including a child, have drowned after a boat carrying illegal immigrants trying to reach Greece capsized off western Turkey, according to officials and media reports.

The sinking on Friday is the latest fatal tragedy in European waters that has sparked calls for action over the vast tide of illegal immigration from the Middle East and Africa.

"Acting on a tip-off at 2.30am (1130 AEDT) the coastguard seized the boat and recovered five bodies," Turkish coastguard official Arslan Dede said.

Another body was recovered later on Friday, Turkish media said.

Eight people were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital after the sinking in the Aegean Sea, Dede said.

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The nationalities of those on the boat were not immediately known but media reports said they were believed to be Syrians.

Turkey, which hosts about 600,000 Syrians who have fled the civil war in their country, has become a hub for illegal immigrants who aspire to reach Europe in the search for a better life.

But the journey across the Mediterranean is frequently perilous, and hundreds of migrants, mainly Africans, drowned en route for Europe in October alone.

The International Organisation for Migration voiced its concern on Friday over migrant deaths, saying a spate of fatal sinkings was a "wake-up call" for the international community to act.

"We must take urgent measures to ensure that these tragedies become a thing of the past," IOM director general William Lacy Swing said in a statement.


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