Four Migrants Killed Off Turkey’s Aegean Sea After Greek Pushback

Four irregular migrants were killed off Turkey’s Aegean sea after Greek officials pushed back two life rafts carrying at least 42 asylum-seekers.

Turkey’s coast guard agency disclosed this on Tuesday that its team rescued 38 foreign nationals who were brought ashore and delivered to medical teams to be treated for hyperthermia.

Acting on a tipoff about a group of asylum-seekers floating in two life rafts near the Dilek Peninsula in the Kuşadası district of western Aydın province, the coast guard went on the rescue operations.

The coast guard crews is still scouring the region for other possible survivors.

Tuesday’s rescue follows a similar instance in the same region last week when five other asylum-seekers were killed after a boat carrying 31 people sank off the coast of Aydın’s Didim district.

The Turkish coast guard were able to rescue 11 of the migrants.

Turkey frequently accuses Greece of engaging in the illegal practice of pushback of migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum.

Greece denies and in turn accuses Turkish authorities of directing migrant boats to Greek waters.