Here's what we know about the Syrian child who drowned trying to escape with his family
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ANKARA, Turkey (Reuters) — The family of a Syrian toddler whose body washed up on a Turkish beach had been trying to emigrate to Canada after fleeing the war-torn town of Kobani, one of their relatives told a Canadian newspaper Thursday.
A photograph of the tiny body of a 3-year old boy washed up in the Aegean resort of Bodrum appeared in newspapers around the world Thursday, spawning sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping refugees.
"He had a name: Alyan [sic] Kurdi. Urgent action required - A Europe-wide mobilization is urgent," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls tweeted.
The boy's brother, Galip, 5, and mother, Rehan, 35, also died after their boat capsized while trying to reach the Greek island of Kos. His father, Abdullah, was found semi-conscious and taken to a hospital near Bodrum, according to Turkey's Sabah newspaper.
"I heard the news at 5 o'clock this morning," Teema Kurdi, Abdullah’s sister and a Vancouver resident, was quoted as saying by Canada's National Post newspaper.
She had heard of the deaths from another of the boy's aunts.
"She had got a call from Abdullah, and all he said was, 'My wife and two boys are dead,'" Teema said.
The family was among at least 12 presumed Syrian refugees, other young children among them, who died trying to reach Kos after two boats, carrying 23 people, set off from the Akyarlar area of the Bodrum Peninsula, a naval official said.
APA paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of a migrant child after a number of migrants died and a smaller number were reported missing after boats carrying them to the Greek island of Kos capsized Wednesday.
Abdullah and his wife and two children had made a privately sponsored refugee application to the Canadian authorities that was rejected in June because of complications with applications from Turkey, the National Post quoted Teema as saying.
"I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbors who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn’t get them out, and that is why they went in the boat," she said. "I was even paying rent for them in Turkey, but it is horrible the way they treat Syrians there."
Turkey has won international praise for taking in 2 million refugees since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, spending $6 billion caring for them and receiving just $400 million in outside aid.
But it has warned that it is reaching capacity, and thousands are now making the perilous journey by boat from Turkey to Greece in a bid to enter Europe.
Thomson ReutersRefugees from Syria walk along a road in the village of Miratovac near the town of Presevo, Serbia.
Kobani has been the scene of intense fighting over the last year. In recent months, Kurdish regional forces have been trying to repel attempts by ISIS to recapture the town.
Tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the war in their homeland have descended on Turkey's Aegean coast this summer to board boats to Greece.
The Turkish army said its search-and-rescue teams had saved hundreds of migrants in the seas between Turkish and Greek islands over the last few days.
One of the survivors from the two capsized boats, Zeynep Abbas Hadi, fainted after seeing the dead bodies of two of her children, 9 and 11, footage on the Dogan news agency's website showed. Her 7-year old daughter survived, the agency said.
TwitterAylan Kurdi and his older brother, Galip.
Another survivor, Syrian Omer Mohsin, said he swam ashore after the boat sank shortly after heading off at 2 a.m. — 2300 Greenwich Mean Time — and was now looking for his missing brother.
"There were supposed to be 10 people on the boat, but they put 17 people on board. Me and my brother paid 2,050 euros each," Dogan quoted him as saying on its website.
The image of Aylan, the little boy wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts lying face-down in the surf on a beach in one of Turkey's most popular holiday regions, went viral on social media and put pressure on European leaders.
"When I realized there was nothing to do to bring that boy back to life, I thought I had to take his picture ... to show the tragedy," Nilufer Demir, a photographer with Dogan, told broadcaster CNN Turk.
"I hope the impact this photo has created will help bring a solution," she said.
Video footage showed the body of another young child, thought to be Aylan's brother, also lying in the sand as waves lapped at his feet.
The UN refugee agency estimates that almost 160,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece by sea since the start of last year. In July, more than 50,000 people, mostly Syrians, arrived in Greece compared with 43,500 in 2014.
Some 2,500 refugees and migrants are estimated to have died or gone missing this year trying to reach Europe.
The agency has repeated calls for Greece and the EU to take steps to address the situation.
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