Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Witness to migrant capsizing that killed 37 recounts tragedy

The lifeless body of a migrant boy lies on the beach near the Aegean town of Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. A boat carrying migrants to Greece hit rocks off the Turkish coast on Saturday and capsized, killing at least 33 people, including five children, officials and news reports said. Some 75 other migrants were rescued. A Turkish government official said he expects the death toll from the incident to rise as rescue workers try to reach other migrants believed trapped inside the wreckage of the boat which sank shortly after departing from the Aegean resort of Ayvacik.(AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal)
The lifeless body of a migrant boy lies on the beach near the Aegean town of Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. A boat carrying migrants to Greece hit rocks off the Turkish coast on Saturday and capsized, killing at least 33 people, including five children, officials and news reports said. Some 75 other migrants were rescued. A Turkish government official said he expects the death toll from the incident to rise as rescue workers try to reach other migrants believed trapped inside the wreckage of the boat which sank shortly after departing from the Aegean resort of Ayvacik.(AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal) The lifeless body of a migrant boy lies on the beach near the Aegean town of Ayvacik, Canakkale, Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. A boat carrying migrants to Greece hit rocks off the Turkish coast on Saturday and capsized, killing at least 33 people, including five children, officials and news reports said. Some 75 other migrants were rescued. A Turkish government official said he expects the death toll from the incident to rise as rescue workers try to reach other migrants believed trapped inside the wreckage of the boat which sank shortly after departing from the Aegean resort of Ayvacik.(AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal)

By Associated Press 4 min read

AYVACIK, Turkey (AP) – A witness to the drowning of 37 people including babies and other young children off Turkey’s coast recounted the disaster, describing the screams in the moments after the boat carrying the migrants slammed into rocks.

Gulcan Durdu, who lives on the beach in the Aegean resort of Ayvacik, cried Sunday while retelling the tragedy that happened at dawn the previous day.

She described being awakened by screaming and wailing after the boat struck rocks and capsized.

“I thought somebody was being murdered,” Durdu said.

Durdu told The Associated Press that she and her husband rushed to try to help survivors and brought a boy to their home to try to warm him up.