Rescuers pulled 24 dead bodies from the sea at the mouth of Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Monday and rescued seven people after a boat carrying a group of migrants sank, the Turkish Coastguard Command said.

Seven coastguard vessels and a helicopter were continuing search operations in the Black Sea, some 3 miles (5 km) north of the Bosphorus, the coastguard said in a statement. Media reports said some 40 illegal migrants, including children, were believed to have been on the boat.