A police officer cradled the body of a little boy who died after the boat he was in capsized on its way to Greece.

Three people died and four were missing on Tuesday after a refugee boat carrying eight people capsized in a river that flows between Turkey and Greece.

The eighth refugee had made it into Greece, a spokeswoman for Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Organisation (AFAD) said.

A Turkish gendarmerie officer carries the body of a boy who died after the boat he was in capsized on its way to Greece

The boat was travelling along the Maritsa River, in Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne, when it capsized early on Tuesday, the first aid organization said.

Nearby residents heard yells and informed the local gendarmarie forces.

Searchers recovered three bodies, it said, adding that two of them were children - one around 12 years old and the other around four.

The causes of death were not yet determined.

Rescue teams searching for survivors of a boat that capsized in the river along the Turkish-Greek border have recovered the bodies of two children

Three people died and four were missing on Tuesday after a refugee boat carrying eight people capsized in a river that flows between Turkey and Greece

AFAD was still looking for the four others on the boat, but said the cold temperatures and the strong currents in the water was impeding operations.

A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union sharply reduced the flow of refugees into the bloc, many of whom had made the short but dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Greek islands a few miles offshore.

Overall Mediterranean arrivals to the European Union, including refugees making the longer and more perilous crossing from north Africa to Italy, stood at 172,301 in 2017.

The number was down from 362,753 in 2016 and 1,015,078 in 2015, according to U.N. data.

The boat was travelling along the Maritsa River, in Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne, when it capsized