Doug Stanglin

USA TODAY

At least 37 people — including at least 10 children — drowned early Saturday off the western coast of Turkey when a boat packed with migrants capsized, according to media reports.

"I am afraid the numbers will rise as divers continue the search," Mehmet Ünal Şahin, the mayor of Ayvacik, said, according to CNN-Turk TV. "Local people woke up to the sound of screaming migrants."

The five-mile journey in the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Lesbos is short, but rocky — causing the tragedy that killed several babies and toddlers.

Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that 39 died. Saim Eskioglu, deputy governor for the coastal Canakkale province that includes Ayvacik, said he suspects that number is correct, but 37 bodies had been recovered so far, and more remained trapped inside the sunken vessel, according to the Associated Press.

A Turkish government official told the Associated Press the 56-foot boat hit rocks almost immediately after leaving shore. About 75 people were rescued, the Turkish Coast Guard said. The victims were from Afghanistan, Myanmar and Syria, Anadolu reported.

Another private Turkish news agency, Doga, said police arrested a Turkish man suspected of being the smuggler who organized Saturday's failed sea crossing. The man denied responsibility, telling Doga that he also had relatives on board.

EU migrant deaths surge in first month of year

On Friday, the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said 244 people died attempting to reach Europe by boat in the first 28 days of 2016, most of them en route from the western Turkish coast to Greece. That was three times the 82 people who died making the treacherous voyage during the same period in 2015. In January 2014, 12 people perished at sea.

The organization estimates 55,528 migrants made crossings to Europe so far this year — nearly 2,000 per day. The most popular access point is Greece's Aegean Sea, followed by a central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy. Many are fleeing war in Syria and other countries, while others are seeking better economic opportunities.

Turkey is hosting an estimated 2.5 million refugees from Syria. In November, Turkey agreed to fight smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants into Europe. In return, the European Union has pledged $3.25 billion to help improve the migrants’ conditions.

In a separate incident, Anadolu reported the Turkish Coast Guard was searching for 2 people after a boat of migrants sank off the country’s west coast. Patrols were searching off Izmir province following reports a woman and her 3-month-old baby were missing after 16 survivors were rescued.