PO BAG 1: Lesbos

A Turkish rescue worker looks at the body of a migrant lying on the beach in Ayvalik, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. A Turkish media report says the bodies of seven more migrants have washed up on a shore in Turkey _ in a second migrant tragedy at sea in one day. The Dogan news agency the drowned bodies, including women and children, washed up at the coast of Dikili on Tuesday, hours after nine bodies were discovered further north, on a sandy beach in the resort of Ayvalik. Dikili and Ayvalik _ some 50 kilometers (30 miles) away _are crossing points for migrants trying to make their way to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Authorities recovered the bodies Tuesday of at least 36 migrants who drowned off Turkey after their boats overturned in rough waters as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, officials and news reports said. Twelve others were rescued.

Nine bodies, including those of children, washed up on a beach in the resort town of Ayvalik early in the morning, prompting authorities to dispatch coast guard boats and gendarmerie officials to search the area by sea and by land for possible survivors.

5 January 2016

36 migrants killed in 2 boat disasters off Turkey