Nine Syrian refugees, including seven children, drowned on Sunday (June 3rd) when their speedboat sank off Turkey's Mediterranean coast, AFP reported.

The boat hit trouble off the Demre district of Turkey's Mediterranean Antalya province, a popular holiday spot, the Anadolu news agency said.

One woman, a man and seven children lost their lives in the incident, the agency said, adding that the oldest child was 14 and the youngest just three.

Six adults were rescued.

The Dogan news agency said the group had been seeking to head illegally to Europe, but their planned route was not immediately clear.

The nearest EU territory is the small Greek island of Kastellorizo to the west which lies off the Turkish resort of Kas.

Anadolu said a couple who survived lost five of their children in the disaster.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, 10,948 people crossed to Greece this year up to May 30th, more than in the same period in 2017.

Thirty-five people lost their lives using this route so far this year, the IOM says.