Turkish coast guards stopped a cargo ship in the Dardanelles Strait in northwestern Turkey’s Canakkale province Thursday that carried around 400 illegal immigrants, a local official said.
“According to our initial information, around 400 illegal Syrian immigrants were on board,” Canakkale governor, Ahmet Cinar, said, adding that, “There was no resistance, casualties or injuries on the ship.”
Authorities faced some challenges in bringing the ship to a halt. “Despite all the warnings from Turkish officials, the ship wouldn’t stop,”Cinar recalled.
The Turkish coast guards had to resort to force to halt the ship. At first, the method of mooring was tried. “Our goal was to prevent people on board from any damage,” the governor said.
However, when the vessel repeatedly failed to yield to authorities’ warnings, the coast guards opened fire on the ship’s machinery. “Eventually, the ship stopped completely due to the locked steering,” he said.