Death toll rises to 61 in Turkey boat sinking

The Governorship of the Turkish western province of Izmir on Thursday said that 61 illegal migrants were killed while 46 others rescued after a boat carrying them sank in Aegean Sea off the coast of Menderes town of Izmir province. In a statement released Thursday, as World Bulletin news agency reports, the Governorship of Izmir said that those 61 people killed included 12 men, 18 women, 28 children and 3 babies. ''Rescued Palestinian and Syrian illegal migrants were brought to the Ahmetbeyli Gendarmery Station and went through a health check-up. Two of those rescued were taken to a local hospital. The Prosecutor's Office in Menderes began an investigation on the boat,'' the statement underlined. Rescue operations in the region will continue for three days.