Another migrant disaster occurred in the Mediterranean, leaving thirteen people, including children, dead after a mid-sea collision.

The disaster occurred when the dinghy they were travelling in collided with a ferry close to the port of Canakkale. The Turkish coastguard received the alarm, and rescue efforts retrieved eight people. Four of the thirteen dead were children.

According to the BBC:

At least 13 migrants, including children, have died after their dinghy and a ferry collided off Turkey.

The accident happened close to the port of Canakkale. The boat was on its way to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Turkey’s coastguard said it had raised the alarm after being told that a commercial vessel and a migrant boat had collided off Canakkale.

It said it had sent a helicopter and six rescue boats to the area.

Eight people have been rescued, with one seriously injured. Some reports said four of the dead were children.

One survivor who gave his name as Haseen, told AFP news agency: “It was dark, we saw the ship bearing down on us. We tried to signal with flashlights and cell phones but they did not see us.”

The passengers were thrown into the water.

“We lost the children. We could not see them in the dark,” Haseen said.

In a second incident, Greece’s coastguard said 26 people were feared missing from a boat, also off Lesbos. The coastguard said it had rescued 22 people spotted in the water near Lesbos – but a further 26 people were feared missing.”