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THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek police boats were searching along the Evros River on the Greek-Turkish border for a second day Friday for a Turkish woman and her three young children missing since the boat they were using to cross the border capsized.
Shore-based rescue crews were also searching for the 36-year-old woman, reportedly a teacher, and her three sons, aged around 6, 4 and 1. They had fled Turkey for Greece along with the woman's husband and four others, all Turkish.
The woman's husband, also a teacher, and the other four people survived and managed to swim to the Greek side of the border, where Greek authorities picked them up Thursday.
Hundreds of Turks have sought asylum in Greece since a crackdown by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of a failed 2016 coup against him. Asylum applications by Turkish nationals have sharply increased, with 189 in 2016 compared to 1,827 in 2017 and 1,152 in the first half of 2018.
Four other Turks who went to the area to join the search for the mother and children were arrested for entering an off-limits military zone. Two told Greek authorities they were journalists, while the other two said they were friends of the woman's husband.
They were released after receiving suspended sentences for breaching the restricted zone. All had fled Turkey earlier and were applying for asylum in Greece.
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