Death toll up to 19 as refugee boat capsize in Black Sea

The death toll has risen to 19 after a refugee boat sank early Friday off the Turkish coast in the Black Sea, the Turkish Coast Guard said.

A total of 40 refugees have been saved in the rescue operation under the cooperation between the coastguards and fishermen, the Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement posted on its website.

Rescue teams are continuing to search for the missing numbering 9 to 11, the statement said.

The ill-fated boaters departed from Kefken in Turkey's Marmara province of Kocaeli, the Coast Guard said.

According to the Hurriyet daily, the refugees, whose nationalities remain unknown, were heading for Romania.

The Black Sea has lately become the new route for refugees trying to reach European countries for better lives, as the Aegean Sea route has turned harder for them to cross after Turkey and the European Union inked a deal in March last year to stem the flow of migrants.

According to Turkish Coast Guard data, a total of 14,632 illegal migrants have been intercepted by the Turkish side this year in both the Aegean and Black Seas.

In August the figure was 2,669, up from 1,603 over the same period last year.