ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The bodies of 14 migrants were recovered, and three others were rescued on Friday after an inflatable boat sank off the coast of Turkey's southwestern Mugla province, the governor’s office reported.

The Mugla governor’s office said they launched search and rescue operation after an Afghan national, who was on board the boat, swam for six hours to shore and called for help early Friday.

Based on information provided by the migrant, Mugla provincial authorities estimated there were 18 people on board.

“A total of two people were rescued alive, while the bodies of 14 migrants were recovered,” the statement said.

An investigation is ongoing as one person has yet to be found.

The boat sank off the coast of Bodrum in the Aegean Sea, a major route for migrants attempting to reach Europe.

Thousands of migrants illegally try to cross the deadly Aegean Sea every year in search of a better life in Europe and the United Kingdom, with a large number of them coming from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Kurdish regions of Syria, Iran, and Turkey.

Latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates at least 1,379 migrants dead or missing in the Mediterranean in 2025, following 2,573 deaths or disappearances in 2024.

Since 2014, the IOM estimates more than 30,000 migrants have either lost their lives or went missing along the Mediterranean routes.

According to data published by the Summit (Lutka) Foundation, over 15,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have migrated to Europe from January to June 2025, raising the total number of Iraqi migrants to around 780,000 since 2015.