Eighteen migrants who had boarded a rubber dinghy drowned on Wednesday in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Bodrum, in southwestern Turkey, the Turkish coastguard said.

"Following search and rescue operations, 21 undocumented migrants were rescued alive, while the bodies of 18 others were recovered," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

There was no immediate information about the nationality of the migrants.

"Efforts to determine the status of the missing (migrants) and search and rescue operations are continuing in this case," the coast guard said.

Shipwrecks are common among vessels attempting the perilous crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands, which are a gateway to the European Union. 

Source: AFP