Ankara, March 7 (RHC)-- At least 25 refugees have lost their lives while attempting to cross from Turkey to Greece in the Aegean Sea.  According to a Turkish official who was speaking on condition of anonymity, the refugees died on Sunday when their boat capsized off the coastal town of Didim in southwest Turkey.

The Turkish coastguard reportedly managed to save 15 of the refugees on the boat, and is continuing to search for the bodies of the refugees who have gone missing.  The nationalities of the victims as well as the total number of the people on the boat were not mentioned in reports.

Analysts blame the Western countries’ intervention in conflicts in the Middle East as the main reason behind the refugees’ decision to leave their home countries.  More than 131,000 asylum seekers have reached Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year, more than the total number recorded in the first half of 2015, according to the latest figures by the United Nations.