At least 17 irregular migrants have been rescued in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's southwestern coast, said security sources over the weekend. The migrants requested help from the Coast Guard when their rubber boat started taking in water off the Emecik district in Muğla province, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, in Bodrum district, 13 irregular migrants were rescued after their fiber boat sank off Turgutreis Cape. Among the migrants, Mouch Navw, a 31-year-old Iraqi mother of two and pregnant, died in a district hospital. All of the migrants, most of whom are Palestinian and Iraqi nationals, were referred to the provincial migration office.

Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.