Turkish coast guards nab 190,000 migrants in 5 years

The Turkish Coast Guard units have intercepted 188,939 irregular migrants in the past five years, with 39,000 apprehended in the first eight months of this year alone, as they attempted to cross into Europe.

According to the command's data, authorities have referred 296 suspected human traffickers, accused of orchestrating these illicit crossings, to judicial authorities this year.

Over the past five years, the command intervened in a total of 6,375 incidents of irregular migration.

The Coast Guard Command also operates within Turkish waters, tasked with saving the lives of both citizens and migrants who are afflicted by sudden illness, accidents or injuries at sea.

Since the beginning of the year, the teams have conducted 1,052 search, rescue and evacuation operations.

During these missions, 18,078 people in distress were rescued from 127 vessels. Tragically, the teams also recovered the bodies of 159 individuals, while facilitating the medical evacuation of 285 individuals suffering from injury or deteriorating health conditions.

Türkiye's west coast is a regular launch point for vessels carrying refugees trying to reach nearby Greek islands.

In a recent incident, a Greek Coast Guard boat chased an inflatable dinghy to within a few dozen meters of the Turkish coast on Sept. 20.

Turkish news website Bodrum Kent TV published a video it said showed the Greek vessel chasing the Zodiac-style dinghy — thought to be linked to people trafficking — in Turkish territorial waters at Akçabük Bay, near Bodrum, southwest Türkiye.

The inflatable boat, reportedly carrying one person, landed in front of a holiday complex as the Greek boat abruptly gave up its pursuit and sped away from the Turkish shore.