At least 20 illegal migrants died when a boat carrying about 70 people sank off the Turkish Aegean coast on Saturday, authorities said today.

Six people have so far been rescued, Orhan Sefik Guldibi, a district governor in the coastal Izmir province told state-run Anatolian news agency.

"We are afraid that the number of dead people may rise," Guldibi told CNN Turk broadcaster.

Rescued migrants said there were about 70 people in the boat when it sank.

The Turkish coastguard declined to comment.

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