Migrant crisis: Fake life jackets for migrants seized in Turkey

Police in Turkey say they have confiscated more than 1,000 fake life jackets made for migrants wanting to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece.

Officers raided a workshop in the port of Izmir, where they say they found life jackets stuffed with packaging rather than buoyancy aids.

The four workers making the jackets included two young Syrian girls.

On Tuesday, the bodies of 34 migrants were found along Turkey's coast. Many were wearing life jackets.

Several children were among the dead.

No protection

More than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 and the vast majority went from Turkey to Greece.

Many migrants buy life jackets to help them survive the dinghy journey. A properly made jacket costs up to a £100 (€130; $150), reports the BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul.

But many migrants make do with cheaper, badly made ones, which cost just £10 and may offer no protection whatsoever, our correspondent says.
 BBC
6/1/16
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