Authorities in Türkiye have launched an investigation into the discovery of eight bodies washed ashore in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, with two of the bodies found on Monday along the beach in the popular vacation resort of Serik.
There is growing suspicion that the bodies, found over the past week, may be linked to a migrant boat that went missing off the coast near the Syria-Lebanon border last month, while en route to the island of Cyprus. The boat, which vanished on Dec. 11, is believed to have carried an estimated 90 people, according to information provided by the Lebanese Embassy in Türkiye, as reported by the Governor's Office.
The Governor's Office, in a statement, explained that an analysis of currents, winds and waves suggested that the victims might have been swept toward the Antalya coastline. The ongoing investigation aims to establish the identity of the deceased and shed light on the circumstances surrounding their tragic fate.
In Lebanon, a lawyer who follows migrants’ cases, Mohammed Sablouh, said the boat left northern Lebanon with about 85 people on board, including 30 children.
Sablouh said contact was lost with another boat that left Lebanon on Thursday with about 50 or 60 people on board.
Saadeddine Shatila, executive director of the Cedar Center for Legal Studies, a Lebanon-based human rights nonprofit, said his group had been able to identify 76 of the passengers on the boat that went missing on Dec. 11. All of them were Syrians, in addition to the Lebanese captain.
Some of the Syrians had been living in Lebanon for years as refugees and others had come recently from Syria to Lebanon, intending to reach Europe by sea, Shatila said. The smugglers' going rate for passage from Lebanon to the island of Cyprus is $3,500, he said.
The price tag of passage has increased, as has the demand for the journey over the past few years since Lebanon fell into a prolonged economic crisis. In addition, the country’s nearly 13-year-long civil war also impacts the demand for smuggling people out of the country.
Shatila said he hopes DNA tests will identify the remains of some of the missing boat’s passengers and bring some closure to their families. He called for international authorities to renew search efforts for the boat and for European countries to open more legal pathways for migration so that people do not resort to these extreme measures.
"People are leaving irregularly by these boats because they don’t have another solution," he said.
On Monday, hotel staff found the two bodies 500 meters (about 1,600 feet) apart on the beach used by guests, the private Demiroren News Agency (DHA) reported.
Additionally, two bodies were discovered in Manavgat and one in Serik on Saturday. The possibility that the female body found in Serik may be linked to the disappearance of 18-year-old Merve Şevval Elmas prompted her family from Istanbul to travel to Antalya for DNA testing.