ISTANBUL: Turkish autho­­rities said they found bodies of 34 migrants, at least three of them children, at two locations on the Aegean coast on Tuesday after they apparently tried to cross over to the Greek island of Lesbos.

The flow of mostly Syrian refugees and migrants braving the seas to seek sanctuary in Europe dipped towards the end of last year with the colder weather, but the total still reached one million last year, nearly five times more than in 2014.

The migrants died after their boat or boats apparently capsized in rough seas. It was not known how many vessels were involved or how many people were on board.

Twenty-four of the bodies were discovered on the shoreline in the district of Ayvalik, the Turkish coast guard command said. Ten others were found in Dikili, a gendarmerie official said.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2016