Eighteen people have died and 14 have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants trying to sail to Greece sank off the southern Turkish town of Bodrum.
Dogan News Agency reports that the wooden boat capsized some 3.5 kilometers off the Turkish coast on December 18. It was carrying migrants from Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria.
Those rescued were taken to the hospital in Bodrum, many in serious condition, the agency said.
A record 500,000 refugees, often from Syria and Iraq, have travelled through Turkey and then risked their lives at sea to reach Greek islands this year.
Despite the winter conditions and rougher seas, the exodus has continued but at a slower pace.
Nearly 600 people have died this year on the so-called eastern Mediterranean Sea route for migrants, according to the International Organization for Migration.