Hope for shipwreck immigrants fades

Rescuers have found eight bodies

Sixteen illegal immigrants missing from a boat that capsized on the way to Greece are presumed drowned.

Coastguards continued their search on Sunday for survivors from the boat that capsized off Kos, Greece.

Searchers recovered eight bodies from the Aegean on Saturday, within hours of the boat's sinking and a there have been seven survivors.

A body is brought ashore

But Turkish Navy Sergeant Avni Cindik said any hope of finding any more of the 31 immigrants was fading.

"We don't expect to find anyone in open seas," he said.

"Their bodies should be washed ashore by now."

On Sunday, police arrested three Turkish smugglers who allegedly organised the trip.

Accidents commonplace

The captain, who was among the rescued on Saturday, told authorities he was bringing 31 illegal immigrants - 18 Iraqis, including one woman, eight Iranians, five Afghanis - to Greece when the boat sank.

The captain, who is expected to face criminal charges, said that smugglers had offered him $1,000 for each person he smuggled into Greece.

The 8-metre (24 feet) boat left from the Aegean resort town of Bodrum, across from Kos.

Accidents at sea have become commonplace in the region, where hundreds of immigrants from poor Asian countries have flocked in a bid to sneak into Europe in search of a better life.

Entering Turkey illegally from its eastern border, most immigrants then either set sail for Europe on dilapidated ships or try to cross the land border into Greece.