Turkish police raided the workshop in Izmir - a port city that is often a departure point for migrants hoping to make it to Europe - and found workers stuffing the jackets with packaging rather than buoyancy aids, according to the BBC.

Of the four workers, two were young Syrian girls, the BBC said.

More than one million migrants traversed the Mediterranean in 2015, most of them from Syria and most travelling from Turkey to Greece. The sea voyage is just one dangerous step of an impossibly perilous journey.

According to Hurriyet, a Turkish daily, Syrians tend to congregate in Izmir while they seek passage on a smuggling boat - and the funds to pay for it. They stay in cheap hotels, or else on the street. They take work if they can find it. They eat what they can, if they can. They wait for the smuggler's phone call that often comes in the middle of the night: "We're leaving now."

Since smugglers don't generally provide life jackets, migrants must acquire them on their own. A properly made jacket costs up to $US150, according to the BBC. An improperly-made jacket may be as little as $US15, but has almost no hope of floating. Many migrants, strapped for cash but desperate for some semblance of protection, will still buy them.