At least six people died and one was missing when a boat sank off Turkey's Aegean coast on Sunday, local media reported.

According to the state-run Anadolu agency, the mishap occurred near Ayvalik District in the western province of Balikesir when the inflatable boat carrying 16 people trying to flee Turkey illegally was en route to the Greek island of Lesbos.

The agency said the group was suspected of including members of a banned network led by U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016, an accusation denied by Gulen.

Nine people were rescued, the report quoted District Governor Gokhan Gorguluarslan as saying. The rescue operation is still on to find the missing person.