ISTANBUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish coast guard on Friday rescued a total of 56 illegal immigrants off Turkey's Aegean coast, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.
Turkish teams rescued the migrants in a rubber boat near the Dikili district of Turkey's western province of Izmir, the agency said.
The incident happened when the Greek coast guard teams pushed the boat back to Turkey, Anadolu noted, adding that the migrants were taken to a provincial immigration office for legal processes.
Since this year, a total of 11,076 migrants attempted to reach Greece via Turkey's seas, slightly down from 11,710 over the same period in 2019, according to the latest figures released by the Turkish coast guard.
The Aegean Sea was once the main route for migrants trying to reach Europe via Turkey. A deal was signed between Turkey and the European Union in March 2016 to curb the flow of illegal immigration.
Hosting over 3.7 million Syrian refugees in its territory, Turkey has been urging European countries to take more responsibility. Enditem
