A two-year-old boy has become the first migrant casualty of the year after the overcrowded dinghy he was travelling in sank. The toddler drowned when the rubber vessel slammed into rocks off Greece’s Agathonisi island.
The other 39 passengers, including a woman who had fallen overboard, were rescued after local fishermen rushed to help. Ten of the survivors were taken to hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
The dinghy had set off from Turkey in the early morning in windy weather. The boy’s body was pulled out of the water by fishermen, according to the coastguard. The migrants, including the child’s mother, were taken to the port of Pythagorio on Samos, the nearest island which is 50km away.
There was no immediate information about their nationalities.”Nothing can prepare you for the horrific reality of what is going on. Today we came face to face with one of the youngest victims of this ongoing refugee crisis. It is a tragic reminder of the thousands of people who have died trying to reach safety in miserable conditions,” said MOAS founder and US entrepreneur Christopher Catrambone in a statement.