More than 500,000 refugees and migrants entered Greece through its outlying islands last year, travelling on to central and northern Europe. (AFP File Photo)
The bodies of at least eight migrants, most of them children, washed up on Turkey's Aegean coast today after their boat apparently capsized as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, Turkey's Dogan news agency reported.
The Turkish coastguard discovered the bodies in the district of Ayvalik at around 5 am (0300 GMT). They rescued eight other people after a search at sea from among a total of 22 believed to have attempted the crossing, Dogan said.
Rescuers were continuing to search the coastline and sea amid fears that the death toll could rise further, it said.
More than 500,000 refugees and migrants entered Greece through its outlying islands last year, travelling on to central and northern Europe as part of the biggest humanitarian crisis on the continent in two decades.
Lesbos, located less than 10 km (six miles) from the coast of Turkey, has been a primary gateway for thousands of migrants crossing the European Union's outermost border, many of them fleeing civil war in Syria.
© Thomson Reuters 2016