Up to 60 migrants may have been trapped in a boat that sank in lake Van in eastern Turkey last week, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Wednesday.
Turkey launched a search-and-rescue mission involving helicopters and boats after the boat carrying migrants across the lake was reported missing on June 27. So far rescue teams have recovered six bodies.
Soylu, who traveled to Van to oversee the rescue operation, told reporters Wednesday that authorities estimated the boat was carrying between 55 and 60 migrants when it went down in stormy weather.
A total of 11 other people have detained in connection with the tragedy, he said.
HaberTurk television said the migrants are believed to be from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
Last year, seven migrants drowned while 64 others were rescued when their boat capsized in the lake, which is close to the border with Iran but lies within Turkey’s borders.
The boat was carrying migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Smugglers are believed to be transporting migrants across the lake to escape police checkpoints on roads.
Turkey, which hosts about 3.7 million Syrian refugees, is a main crossing point for migrants trying to reach Europe.
More than a million people reached Greece from Turkey in 2015-16, although the numbers later dropped sharply under a 2016 agreement between the EU and Turkey for Ankara to take migrants back in return for funds.
