Turkey's coastguard said on Wednesday it had rescued a Syrian refugee who clung on alone to a sinking boat for his life after it went down while seeking to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece, AFP reports.
The coastguard released dramatic footage of the incident Monday when Syrian refugee Pelen Hussein was picked up by rescuers off the Turkish port of Edremit in the western Baliksehir region.
Pelen Hussein was one of some several dozen refugees who set off in a 10 meter (30 feet) boat in the hope of reaching EU member Greece.
But the boat sank off Edremit, leaving 27 dead including 11 children, in an incident that was widely covered as it coincided with a visit to Ankara by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Pelen Hussein was one of just half a dozen rescued.