Turkish sources announced that a boat carrying 45 Syrian refugees sank while heading to Italy, and 36 of them were rescued, while searches for the missing are still underway.

The Anadolu Agency reported, on Friday, quoting sources in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, that the Coordination Center for Search and Rescue Works of the General Directorate of Maritime Navigation in the Ministry received a report on Thursday evening that a boat carrying refugees had sank southeast of the Greek island of Crete.

The sources said that officials of a Turkish merchant ship that was at the scene of the accident indicated that the boat carrying Syrian refugees ran out of fuel and sank due to bad weather.

The ministry stated that a Turkish merchant ship rescued 31 refugees, while a Greek helicopter rescued 5 others.

The source indicated that two Turkish Navy frigates and a plane were sent to search for the missing, and that search work was continuing with the participation of 4 commercial ships.