The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on Thursday called on Turkish authorities to do everything possible to find missing Afghan migrants who are believed to have been on a rubber dinghy that capsized off Turkey in mid-March.

At the time, Turkish media reported at least 22 people drowned, including seven children, when the rubber boat they were in sank off Turkey’s northwest province of Canakkale.

On Thursday, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Returnees said that 22 Afghans died in the tragedy. The ministry said four migrants had been rescued but an undisclosed number of Afghans were still missing.

“We request the officials and rescue teams of Turkey to make full efforts to find our missing citizens in this incident,” read the ministry’s statement.

The ministry also called on Afghans to stop migrating and to instead stay in the country.

“We call upon all our countrymen once again to refrain from migrating to other countries and settle in their own country instead of settling in other countries so that we do not witness such tragedies in the future,” the ministry said.

In addition, the ministry urged Afghans abroad to return home.

On March 15, Reuters reported that the Canakkale governor’s office said two people had been rescued by the coast guard and two others had survived “by their own means” after the boat capsized.

The governor’s office said a plane, two helicopters, and a total of 18 vessels from the coast guard and other rescue authorities were involved in the search and rescue efforts, along with 502 personnel.

The exact number of migrants that were on the boat has not been released.

At least 3,129 deaths and disappearances have been recorded in the Mediterranean since 2017, making it the deadliest route for migrants and refugees, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Many migrants try to reach the Greek islands from Turkey’s western coasts to head to European Union countries, with many dying in the perilous sea crossing.