By Göksel Kayseri and Tezcan Ekizler

IZMIR, Turkey (AA): The bodies of six refugees, including women and children, were recovered late Thursday after a boat sank off Turkey’s Aegean cost, the Turkish coast guard confirmed.Two woman and four children died when the refugee boat carrying 18 people capsized near the Cesme district of the Aegean province of Izmir. The boat was headed to the Greek islands.

Three boats and one helicopter were dispatched by the coast guard in a rescue operation. Nine people, including four Iraqis, three Somalis, two Syrians as two others reportedly missing were rescued and taken to Cesme State Hospital for treatment.

The organizer of the migrants reportedly managed to escape while the boat was sinking. The search continues for missing refugees.

[Archive Photos: Turkish security forces and volunteers carry bodies of refugees after boat sank in Aegean Sea in Edremit Bay in Balikesir on 8 February 2016. Photographer: Hanife Erdinc/AA]