<span style="color: #222222;">Turkish coastguard today said eight people died after a boat carrying illegal migrants sank off southwestern Turkey this morning. It said 31 migrants had been rescued after the boat sank off the coast of Bodrum district in Mugla province, and search and rescue efforts are continuing. </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' It was not immediately known which country or countries the migrants were from. The incident took place a few kilometres from the Greek island of Kos. Turkey is home to over three million Syrian refugees and up to 300,000 Iraqis who have fled conflicts in their respective countries. <br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Migrants fleeing war and poverty use Turkey as one of the transit countries to try and reach Europe although the numbers have dropped since the influx hit a peak in 2015. According to the International Organization for Migration, between January and June this year, 555 migrants died attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The figure was 924 last year, but lower than the peak of 2,911 deaths recorded in 2016.</span><br />