Some 77 illegal migrants caught off Çanakkale

The Turkish Coast Guard has caught 77 illegal migrants in four separate operations off the coast of the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

Initiating an operation upon notification that there were four groups of irregular migrants in a rubber boat off the coast of Ayvacık district, the teams rescued a total of 77 irregular migrants.

The migrants, taken to the shore, were handed over to the removal center in Ayvacık after their procedures at the police station.

The country has become one of the key transit points for migrants looking to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Thousands come to Greece via Türkiye over the narrow and perilous sea, as over 60 people perished in the eastern Mediterranean last year, the International Organization for Migration says.

With the efforts to detect and identify illegal migrants and organizers, more than 200,000 migrants were caught last year, an increase of around 85 percent compared to the previous year.