Nineteen people, including children, died on Sunday when a vehicle carrying migrants reportedly heading for EU member Greece plunged off the highway into a waterway in western Turkey, state media said.

The vehicle, believed to be a lorry, was travelling on a highway in the Izmir region close to Izmir airport when it flipped over and fell into the channel several metres below, state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The nationality of the migrants was not made clear. Nineteen people were killed, the agency said, lifting an earlier toll of 15, while 11 more were wounded.

Turkish television pictures showed the stricken wreckage of the vehicle, which was reduced to burned-out metal by the impact of the crash.

Large numbers of emergency service personnel were sent to the scene.

The DHA news agency said that the vehicle was headed for the coast of the Izmir region, from where the migrants planned to take a boat to Greece's Samos island.

Samos is just a few kilometres north of Turkey's Dilek peninsula that juts out from the Izmir region.

Turkey is a key transit points for migrants from troubled countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa seeking a new life in Europe.

A million migrants crossed from Turkey into Greece in 2015, mostly by boats, in a crisis which forced a deal between Ankara and the EU to stem the flow of people.

Numbers have fallen since but people are still undertaking what is a highly perilous journey.

According to UN figures, more than 24,500 migrants have arrived in Greece by sea so far this year, with 118 people losing their lives via this route.</s>Image copyright AFP Image caption The burned-out car is retrieved near Kavala

Eleven people thought to be migrants have died after their vehicle and a lorry collided head-on in northern Greece.

Both the car and the lorry burst into flames but the lorry driver managed to escape without serious injuries.

The car was heading to the city of Thessaloniki and the lorry was travelling to Kavala when the crash occurred early on Saturday.

Police said the car had previously been used for migrant smuggling.

Greece had been the frontline of the migrant arrivals, hitting a peak of more than one million from Turkey in 2015.

But the flow of irregular migrants fell dramatically after the EU and Turkey signed an agreement to send back to Turkey migrants who did not apply for asylum or whose claim was rejected.

Police said the car in question had failed to stop when officers tried to pull it over for a check earlier on Saturday.

The nationalities of the victims were not immediately known.</s>A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car's driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle's license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn't stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn't immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn't avoid the collision.

The car wasn't traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car's trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>11 killed in crash of car carrying migrants in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car's driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle's license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn't stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn't immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn't avoid the collision.

The car wasn't traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car's trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>11 killed in crash of car carrying migrants in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car's driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle's license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn't stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn't immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn't avoid the collision.

The car wasn't traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car's trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said. Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into…

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car’s driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle’s license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn’t stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn’t immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn’t avoid the collision.

The car wasn’t traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car’s trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car's driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle's license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn't stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn't immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn't avoid the collision.

The car wasn't traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car's trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>A car carrying migrants has collided with a truck in northern Greece – killing 11 people, police said.

A car carrying migrants has collided with a truck in northern Greece – killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle’s number plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking.

The car had not stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it was not immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5am local time near the town of Kavala.

The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames.

All those in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months.

Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>A car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle's license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car had not stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn't immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All those in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.</s>THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - A speeding car carrying migrants collided with a truck in northern Greece on Saturday, killing 11 people, police said.

Ten of the victims were believed to be migrants who crossed into the Greece from Turkey. The 11th person was the car’s driver and a suspected migrant smuggler, police said.

Police said the car in which the migrants were packed had another vehicle’s license plates and is suspected of having been used for migrant trafficking. The car hadn’t stopped at a police checkpoint during its journey, but it wasn’t immediately clear how close to the site of the crash that it happened.

Police said the crash occurred just after 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) near the town of Kavala. The car, which had been heading to the main northern city of Thessaloniki, collided with a truck heading in the opposite direction and burst into flames. All of the victims have been burned beyond recognition. The truck caught fire as well.

All of the people in the car were killed. The truck driver, a 39-year-old Greek man, was treated for minor injuries in a hospital in northern Greece before being discharged.

Police told The Associated Press the car was traveling at high speed and had crossed over to the eastbound lane. The truck driver tried to swerve at the last moment, but couldn’t avoid the collision.

The car wasn’t traveling on the highway connecting Thessaloniki to the Turkish border but on an older road, because there are more police roadblocks on the highway.

A local firefighter told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation that one of the victims was believed to have been a child and that three or four of the others were in the car’s trunk.

Greek authorities have been seeing an increase in people illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border in recent months. Many are transported to Thessaloniki, where they head to police stations to be registered and apply for asylum.
Eleven people are killed after their vehicle and a lorry collide head-on in Thessaloniki, Greece.