Istanbul: One person died, and seven others remain missing after a migrant boat sank in the Aegean Sea off Turkey’s western coast early Saturday, according to the Turkish coast guard.

The coast guard said 37 passengers were rescued alive from a rubber dinghy that began taking on water before dawn near the town of Dikili, north of Izmir.

Dikili, a small coastal resort town, lies opposite the Greek island of Lesbos, roughly 20 kilometres away.

"Search operations ... are continuing to find the seven missing irregular migrants," the coast guard said.

Shipwrecks are common for perilous crossings to the Greek islands, which are a gateway to the European Union.

Nearly 1,900 migrants either disappeared or were found drowned in the Mediterranean in 2025, according to the International Organisation for Migration.