Fourteen people died and a further 27 were rescued by Turkish authorities after their boat sank on its way to the Greek island of Lesbos, Dogan news agency reported yesterday.

Tens of thousands of migrants have made the perilous journey from Turkey to Europe in recent months, many of them fleeing conflicts in the Middle East while others came from Africa.

The European Union is fighting to have its migration crisis recognised as a global problem

The onset of winter has so far done little to stem the flow.

Children were among those who died when the wooden boat went down in the eight-kilometre stretch of water separating Lesbos from the Turkish coast, Dohan reported.

Turkey’s coastguard was not immediately available to comment by late yesterday evening.

Meanwhile the European Union is expecting a battle at the summit of world leaders in Turkey on Sunday to have its migration crisis recognised as a global problem needing a unified global response, an EU official said late on Tuesday.