22 migrants die in Aegean Sea

At least 22 migrants drowned in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Mugla province on Tuesday.

The 22 migrants included four children and 11 women. They died when a boat carrying more than 230 migrants sank off the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The accident happened close to Datca district of Mugla province, the report said.

Mugla Governor Amir Cicek said the accident occurred off the Turkish island of Karaada in Bodrum Bay as a 15-metre day-trip vessel with refugees on board was sailing from the Turkish coast to the nearby Greek island of Kos.

The coastal tourist destination of Bodrum is a preferred location for refugees trying to reach Kos, as the route is considered among the shortest by sea from Asia to Europe.

In the first five months of 2015, over 42,000 people reached Greece by sea, most of them refugees, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The UNHCR said more than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, and around 2,500 refugees and migrants have died or gone missing trying to reach Europe.