Earlier this month, a photo of the lifeless three-year-old boy named Aylan Kurdi, who was drowned as his family attempted to reach the Greek Island made headlines. Unfortunately, it was not the last incident of drowning that the world will witness following the painstaking attempts of Syrian refugees to escape the war in their country.
Last Sunday, another boat sank off at the Greek Island. Thirty-four refugees were on board and half of them were babies and children. The incident was reportedly the largest death toll in the waters since the migrant crisis began according to the coastguard, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Among the casualties when the vessel overturned on Sunday morning were four babies, six boys and five girls. The report claims that the boat was five kilometers east of the small island of Farmakonisi, close to Turkey's coast, when the accident happened.
According to NBC News, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have crossed the rough seas to make the short but uncertain journey from Turkey to Greece's eastern island, mainly in flimsy and overcrowded inflatable dinghies. In their journey, thousand refugees have died, many of them taking the much longer crossing from Libya in Europe's migrant crisis in decades.
According to the reports the nationalities of the victims on Sunday's drowning were not yet available. However, the coastguards said that 68 people were saved from the water and another 30 survivors from the same boat were found on Farmakonisi.
On Lesbos, a Reuters photographer observed 10 dinghies arriving within 90 minutes on Sunday. Another inflatable boat was carrying 70 refugees, many were children. Unfortunately, it burst 90 yards from the shore. The locals were quick enough to extend help. They pulled infants and toddlers including a two-month-old baby cradled by his father ashore on rubber rings.
With the increasing volume of refugees arriving in Greece, the country has already called for more help from authorities in dealing with the influx. Prime Minister Vasiliki Thanou urged the bloc on Sunday to agree for a more comprehensive policy.
Many of the migrants reaching Greece quickly head north to other countries like Germany. In a separate report from NBC News, 10,000 migrants received a warm welcome as they enter Germany on Saturday. The country has taken over 40,000 refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa in the past week.
However, with the speed of arrival outpacing Germany's ability to provide emergency housing for the migrants. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel is calling for its European Union partners' help by hosting some of the newcomers. "Germany was determined to meet the challenge and provide as warm a welcome as possible," front-line aid workers said.
