Refugee boat sinks off Turkey's Aegean coast, 9 dead

At least nine people, including two babies -- one of them only a-month-old -- died Tuesday after a boat carrying refugees capsized in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's western Izmir province.

Eleven others managed to swim to shore and alert the Turkish Coast Guard, which said they rescued two people following the incident near Seferihisar district.

A search-and-rescue operation is underway to find any missing refugees. All those attempting to reach the nearby Greek island of Samos were Syrian nationals.

On Saturday, at least 39 people died in the Aegean Sea while trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, while three more drowned Sunday. 

Turkey’s Aegean provinces -- Canakkale, Balikesir, Izmir, Mugla and Aydin -- are prime spots for refugees leaving for the EU, with many Greek islands lying within sight of the Turkish coast.

Over the past year, hundreds of thousands have made short-but-perilous journeys in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search for a better life.

Of the more than 1.1 million refugees who arrived in the EU last year, more than 850,000 arrived by sea to Greece from Turkey, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Over the course of the year, 805 people died in the Aegean.

In the first month of 2016, more than 52,000 people arrived by sea in Greece, according to the IOM; more than 200 have died off the Turkish coast.

Anadolu Agency