Migrants on boat (file)
Migrants on boat (file)Reuters

At least 24 migrants have died while scores are missing after a boat carrying refugees capsized off Istanbul’s northern coast in the early hours of Monday, according to officials.

The accident took place near Rumeli Feneri, a small village where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea.

Seven people have been rescued by fishermen and Turkish coast guards dispatched to the area while the bodies have been pulled from the sea near the site of the incident, Turkish Coast Guard officials said. Most of the migrants who died were children, a rescue official said. The boat was carrying 30-40 people, according to reports.

Seven coast guard boats, a helicopter and a special team of divers are assisting the rescue work, officials have said. Fishermen have also been assisting officials in the rescue work.

“The wind is making our task very difficult. The boat is a very small one, it’s in fact just a small boat. But they were carrying 40 people in it. We are seeing bodies of children floating in the sea,” Ali Saruhan, one of the rescuers in the area, told Hurriyet Daily News.

The refugees were believed to be heading to Romania. According to claims, refugees paid 7,000 euros each to traffickers in their desperate attempt to reach Europe. Most of the refugees were Afghans and Turkmens, some of the reports said.

One theory is that the refugees were trying to get to Romania – a member of the European Union.

Two months ago another group of migrants – mostly Syrians and Afghans – was rescued by the Turkish coastguard off the northern coast of Istanbul reportedly heading for the EU.