The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 53 irregular migrants from the Aegean Sea as they embarked on a dangerous journey to Greek islands on Thursday.

Migrants of various nationalities were aboard a sailboat that departed Bodrum, a Turkish district in Muğla province in the country’s southwest, when Coast Guard arrived at the scene. Turkish media outlets reported that the boat was "pushed back" to Turkish waters by Greece. Migrants were taken to the local directorate of migration.

Elsewhere, security forces arrested eight people, all proprietors of accommodation facilities, from hotels to small bed and breakfasts for accommodation illegal immigrants in Marmaris, another district of Muğla, on Thursday. In the past weeks, security forces have discovered 256 migrants who illegally entered Türkiye in the said establishments. Proprietors were issued fines while migrants were referred to the local migration authority, for likely deportation.