Syrian children employed to produce fake life jackets in ?zmir factory

Turkish police have seized over 1,200 unsafe life jackets destined for use by migrants trying to reach Greece by sea, in a raid on an underground workshop that used Syrian underage labor on Jan. 6.

The authorities seized 1,263 life jackets that failed to correspond to safety standards in the raid on the workshop in the center of ?zmir, Do?an News Agency said.

?zmir is a major hub for refugees and migrants seeking to make the risky crossing in flimsy boats to EU member Greece, Agence France-Presse reported.

The fake life jackets seized were filled with "packaging" rather than the proper material needed to keep users alive for hours in the water.

Four people were found working in the workshop, including two young Syrian girls. The confiscated life jackets have been sent to local police for examination while an investigation has been launched.

Standard life-jackets cost 70 Turkish Liras while the seized jackets were sold for only 20 liras. However, they have caused an increase in the number of deaths among refugees because they lack buoyancy.

The news of the seizure comes a day after Turkish authorities announced that the bodies of 31 migrants had been found on its Aegean coast after their boats sank in bad weather while trying to cross to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Nam?k Kemal Nazl?, Ayval?k's district governor, said the death toll of the Jan. 5 incident was 31. The bodies of 23 migrants were found on the shores of Ayval?k's Alt?nova neighborhood area while other eight bodies were found on the shores of Dikili on Jan. 5, according to information released by Nazl? on Jan. 6.

The incident took place as two inflatable boats sailed from Bahçeliköy Çaya?z? and Salihleralt?, two neighborhoods in Dikili,...