At least 39 refugees died when their boat sank off the coast of Turkey, dpa quoted the Anatolia news agency as reporting Thursday. More than 40 people either managed to swim to the shore or were rescued by emergency responders. It is unclear how many people were on the boat when it went down in the Aegean Sea, near the coastal city of Izmir. Rescue teams are still searching for survivors. Reports say passengers on the 15-meter long boat were mainly refugees from Syria and Iraq attempting to enter Europe.
