Istanbul: A cargo ship carrying 337 migrants, mainly from Syria, came under gunfire from the Turkish coastguard on Thursday night.
The force arrested three suspected traffickers of the people on board the vessel plus two Turkish crewmembers, Turkish media reports say.
The coastguard opened fire to prevent the vessel entering European Union waters as it transited the Dardanelles Straits in northwest Turkey, bound for an unknown destination.
The 59-metre-long Dogan Kartal ignored the hail of bullets, but was forced to stop when the coastguard fired on its engines.
Reports say 85 children and 68 women were onboard the vessel.
