REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ANKARA -- Turkish police have seized over 1,200 unsafe life jackets destined for use by migrants trying to reach Greece by sea, in a raid on an underground workshop that used Syrian underage labour, a report said Wednesday.

The authorities seized 1,263 life jackets that failed to correspond to safety standards in the raid on the workshop in the centre of Izmir, a city on the Aegean Sea, the Dogan news agency said.

Izmir is a major hub for refugees and migrants seeking to make the risky crossing in flimsy boats to EU member Greece.

The news of the seizure comes a day after Turkish authorities announced that the bodies of 36 migrants had been found on its Aegean coast after their boats sank in bad weather while trying to cross to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Turkish newspapers on Wednesday published harrowing images of the corpses of the refugees as they were found on Tuesday morning, with their faces in the Dogan said that the so-called life jackets seized were filled with "packaging" rather than the proper material needed to keep users alive for hours in the water.

It said that four people were found working in the workshop, including two young Syrian girls. The confiscated life jackets have been sent to the local police for examination and an investigation has been launched.

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