Turkey stops 40 Syrian migrants from crossing to Greece

ISTANBUL – Turkish authorities say 40 Syrian migrants have been stopped from illegally crossing to Greece.

Turkey's coast guard says the migrants, among them 18 children, were stopped Friday morning off the western province of Izmir.

In footage filmed from a coast guard boat, the group is seen in a rubber dinghy. As the coast guard vessel approaches, one man lifts and then briefly lowers a small child toward the sea, while another man raises his arms in prayer. The coast guard then pulls in the dinghy and transfers the migrants to its boat.

Turkey and the European Union signed a deal last year to curb the illegal flow of migrants to Greece. Turkey is host to more than 3 million Syrians who have fled the ongoing civil war in their country.