UPDATE 1-18 illegal immigrants killed in crash in Turkey

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ANKARA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A small truck carrying illegal immigrants plunged into a river after overturning on a Turkish highway near the border with Greece on Sunday, killing 18 people and injuring 25 others, Anatolian state news agency said.

It said most of the dead were from Myanmar and Pakistan. The accident happened in the town of Malkara, west of Istanbul, a local official told Anatolian.

Turkey is a major trafficking route for illegal immigrants trying to enter the European Union from southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. They are often transported in overcrowded vehicles.

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)