ISTANBUL
At least 24 people have died and six were rescued after a boat believed to have been carrying illegal immigrants, capsized Monday in Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait, according to the governor's office.
A coastguard search-and-rescue vessel, seven coastguard carriers, a diving team, two coastguard helicopters, a plane from the Turkish Coast Guard and two boats from Directorate General of Coastal Safety participated in the search-and-rescue operations, the governor's office said in a statement.
Search-and-rescue operations have been suspended until sunrise on Tuesday, the statement said.
The Turkish Coast Guard said that 40 people were on the boat, and 12 of them were children.
Earlier, Turkish Transportation Minister, Lutfi Elvan said nine passengers had Afghan passports, and that it was possible that all the passengers were from Afghanistan.
Turkey is a regular transit point for undocumented immigrants trying to reach Europe.
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