Six children drown off Turkish coast

Ankara: Six children were killed on Friday when two boats carrying refugees capsized off Turkey’s Aegean coast.

In one incident, two siblings, aged 1 and 4, lost their lives when a boat with 23 refugees on board overturned amid stormy weather off the coast of Bodrum, Xinhua news agency quoted Turkish coast guard officials as saying.

Another small boat carrying 55 Syrian and Afghan refugees to the Greek island of Lesbos sank off the coast of Canakkale, resulting in the death of four children. The bodies were found later.

More than 3,000 refugees have died on their way to Greek islands via Turkey, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

Over 600,000 refugees have reportedly reached Greek islands so far this year.