ISTANBUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish coast guard on Thursday rescued 39 illegal immigrants off Turkey's Aegean coast.

Water began to seep into the inflatable boat carrying the illegal migrants to Greece near the district of Enez in the northwestern province of Edirne, the state-run TRT broadcaster said.

The boat sank when the coast guards arrived at the scene after getting a call for help from the migrants, TRT said, noting the refugees were brought back to Enez.

The report does not identify the nationalities of the illegal migrants.

The Aegean Sea was once the main route for migrants trying to sneak into Europe via Turkey. A deal signed between Turkey and the European Union in March 2016 has curbed the flow of illegal immigration.

Since this year, a total of 32,557 migrants have attempted to reach Greece via Turkey, up from 18,422 over the same period in 2018, according to figures released by the Turkish coast guard.