At least 37 refugees drown trying to reach Greece as smuggler’s boat capsizes

A boat carrying Syrians attempting the short sea journey from Turkey to Greece struck rocks and capsized at dawn on Saturday, causing at least 37 people to drown, among them several babies and young children. In harrowing scenes reminiscent of the death of toddler Aylan Kurdi, images of dead children on a beach on Saturday were another soul-searing reminder that Europe’s migrant crisis keeps destroying lives and families by the day.

There were around 10 children among the dead. Four of them, unfortunately, were babies about one or two years old. We are deeply saddened.

Saim Eskioglu, deputy governor for the coastal Canakkale province

Saturday’s tragedy occurred when the boat capsized as dozens of people attempted the deceptively short crossing from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Lesbos barely 5 miles away. More than 250 migrants have drowned already this month trying to reach one of Greece’s offshore islands, entry point to the European Union and its uncertain promise of refuge from war and poverty.

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