ISTANBUL, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish coast guards rescued 13 illegal migrants off the Turkey's Aegean coast, the force said on Friday.
The coast guards saved 11 migrants who were stuck in an inflatable boat. They also pulled out an unconscious child and a man from the sea near the Bodrum district in the southwestern province of Mugla.
The two persons and a pregnant woman were rushed to a nearby hospital, the coast guards said in a statement posted on its website.
The refugees, including 12 Palestinians and one Syrian, are believed to have tried to sneak into a Greek island, the statement added.
The Aegean Sea was once a main route for migrants being smuggled into Europe via Turkey, but a deal signed between Turkey and the European Union in March 2016 has reduced the flow of illegal migration.
Since this year, a total of 17,464 migrants have attempted to reach the Greek islands via Turkey, up from 12,677 over the same period in 2017, according to figures released by the Turkish coast guards.
