Drowned trying to flee Assad the tyrant: Little girl among 58 dead refugees after boat sinks off the Turkish coast

• Dozens of people - including women and children - perished when fishing boat sunk
• Around 50 survivors managed to swim to shore - just yards away
• Many of those who died are believed to have been trapped below deck
• Two suspected smugglers have been arrested by the Turkish authorities

Nearly 60 illegal immigrants - including refugees escaping the violence in war-torn Syria - drowned when a boat carrying them towards Europe sank off the coast of Turkey.
The fishing vessel is reported to have been carrying around 100 people at the time, mostly from  Syria and Iraq when it hit rocks in the Aegean near Izmir.
Some 51 survivors swam to shore 50m away - whilst others trapped below deck perished in the submerging vessel.

Tragedy: A diver cradles the body of a young girl after a boat carrying illegal immigrants trying to reach Europe capsized in waters off western Turkey

Tragic site: Turkish coastal guard members carry victims from a wrecked boat in the sea

Most of those who escaped the sinking are thought to have been on deck at the time - so were able to jump away from the vessel.
A team of divers have mounted a desperate search for survivors in the water.

Tahsin Kurtbeyoglu, the governor of Menderes, a coastal district in Izmir province, told state television TRT today that the death toll is expected to rise.
Many of those on board were women and children.
The group are reported to have previously made their way to hotels in the Turkish city of Izmir, where smugglers agreed to take them to Britain.

Pain: Of the 100 people on board the boat, 60 died after it sank

Serach: Coast guards look for survivors after at least 58 illegal immigrants drowned near Izmir

Disaster: Rescue teams with divers search around the waters off the Aegian coast

Two Turkish suspects in the alleged smuggling operation have been arrested, Turkey's TRT television reported.

Escaping conflict: Thousands of Syrians have fled to Turkey to escape the civil war in their country - with many heading to Europe. Here smoke rises (pictured) after a Syrian air strike on the city of Aleppo, yesterday

The time of the sinking has not yet been confirmed, but many smugglers take illegal immigrants across the sea at night, in a bid to avoid detection.
Turkey is a popular transit route for illegal immigrants trying to enter Europe.
Each year, thousands put their lives at risk try to sail to Greek islands from Turkish soil in rickety boats.
Sometimes these dangerous journeys end in disaster.
There are currently around 80,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The majority of these people are staying in camps near the border.
Some states have voiced fears that large numbers of Syrians could try to reach them illegally.
Greece said in July that it was quadrupling the number of guards at its border with Turkey.
The Syrian refugee crisis escalated last month as some 100,000 people fled the country, the highest monthly total since the hostilities started 17 months ago, U.N. figures reveal.
The tide in people fleeing the civil war, a figure that includes both refugees who are registered and those awaiting registration with the Geneva-based U.N. refugee agency, highlights the growing violence between the regime of Syria's president, Bashar Assad, and the armed anti-government groups.

Transit: The refugees are reported to have been met by smugglers at hotels in the Turkish city of Izmir (pictured)