.WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- .Bodies of two Kurdish brothers washed up on a beach in Bodrum, Turkey
- .Their parents were fleeing the violence in Syria with their two young sons
- .Around 2,500 people have died trying to reach Europe by sea this year
The parents of two young boys whose bodies washed up on a beach in Turkey collapsed with grief and exhaustion as they said their final goodbyes at a local mortuary.
Little Galip, five, and Aylan Kurdi, three, were on an overcrowded dinghy filled with refugees fleeing the war in Syria when it capsized shortly into the perilous journey to the Greek island of Kos.
Their parents are among just four of the survivors - their sons were not wearing life jackets and did not stand a chance.
Heartbreaking: The tiny boy is cradled in the arms of a Turkish gendarmerie on a beach in the holiday resort
The unnamed boy is just one of almost 3,000 migrants who have already died this year in the Mediterranean
The boat set off from the holiday resort of Bodrum in Turkey shortly after midnight, but it overturned just 30 minutes later.
All 16 passengers were flung into the Mediterranean, and despite the calm water, Galip and Aylan drowned.
Their lifeless bodies, still clad in tiny T-shirts and shorts, washed up on the beach in Bodrum on Wednesday and boatmen alerted the authorities.
A heartbreaking photograph of a Turkish gendarmerie cradling one of the boys in his arms emerged shortly after the tragedy.
Of the 16 passengers, eight, including the Kurdish brothers, drowned. Four survived and four are still missing.
The boys' parents insisted on seeing their children’s bodies at the local mortuary to say a final farewell, but both collapsed and were taken to Bodrum state hospital.
And just half-an-hour after the brothers boat sank – another dinghy heading for Kos capsized.
The second boat was carrying six passengers, but three children and their mother drowned, leaving just two male survivors.
The dead are among the 2,500 people who have already lost their lives this year while fleeing violence, oppression and poverty and trying to reach Europe by sea.
The route between Bodrum and Kos is one of the shortest from Turkey to the Greek islands - about 13 miles. Thousands are attempting the perilous sea crossing despite the risks.
A mother, pictured outside hospital, grieves for her baby who died when a boat sank off the coast of Turkey
A Syrian woman cries outside Bodrum state hospital in Turkey on Wednesday following the death of her baby
Perilous trip: Although only 13 miles from Bodrum, Turkey, to the Greek island Kos, it is still a dangerous trip
Senior United Nations official, Philippe Douste-Blazy, who has witnessed the harrowing scenes in the Mediterranean first hand, gave an impassioned warning to Europe's leaders.
'The talk from politicians is of invasion, mass migration. The mood that has been created is one of xenophobia, of nationalism, of fear,' he told The Independent.
'But, you know, these populists should be careful; the people of Europe are more decent and humane than they think, and they will not like being used for political ends.'
The UN under-secretary general, who is the organisation’s special adviser for development, said people need to see the 'full horror' of what is happening and is sure they will then want to help.
Yvette Cooper, who is standing for the Labour leadership, suggested that it should be possible to take some 10,000 people seeking asylum.
The bodies of the brothers washed up on a beach in Turkey after the boat they were travelling in capsized
It is believed his is one of at least 11 people lost their lives when two boats capsized off the Turkish coast and their belongings (pictured) washed up on a beach in Bodrum
The route between Bodrum and Kos is one of the shortest from Turkey to the Greek islands and thousands of people are boarding rubber dinghies and attempting the perilous sea crossing despite the risks
Elsewhere in Europe, thousands of migrants remain stranded at a station in Budapest after being prevented from getting on trains, and more than 4,200 people arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos by ship.
Chaotic scenes and 16-hour delays hit London-bound Eurostar services overnight as migrants climbed on to the roof of an 186mph train and attempted to break into train carriages.
Passengers on board one train stranded near Calais are understood to have threatened to smash the windows after a power outage left the sweltering carriage in total darkness for five hours.
At Greece's northern border with Macedonia, people are camping out waiting to head further north.
Macedonian authorities have been allowing small groups to cross at a time and head to the Gevgelija train station.
Hundreds of migrants pictured aboard a Norwegian ship transporting people to the Italian Port of Cagliari
Migrants arrive at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece after travelling in passenger ship from Lesbos
And naval vessels from several nations continued to patrol Mediterranean waters off the coast of Libya in hopes of preventing more mass drownings.
Germany, France and the UK have called for a meeting of EU interior and justice ministers in mid-September to work out new responses to the crisis.
While Germany says it expects to receive 800,000 migrants - quadruple last year's figure - many other EU nations face criticism for failing to commit to housing more asylum seekers.
In comparison, Britain received 25,771 asylum applications in the year ending June 2015, according to the Home Office.
Pressure has grown on Prime Minister David Cameron to increase Britain's involvement in sharing the burden of the hundreds of thousands of people arriving on European soil.
Ms Cooper said on Tuesday: 'If every city took 10 refugee families, if every London borough took 10 families, if every county council took 10 families, if Scotland, Wales and every English region played their part, then in a month we'd have nearly 10,000 more places for vulnerable refugees fleeing danger, seeking safety.'
Migrants wait to disembark from the British Border Force vessel HMC Protector in the Sicilian harbour of Pozzallo, Italy
She said the failure to offer sanctuary to refugees trying to escape the 'new totalitarianism' of Islamic State in the Middle East was 'immoral' and 'cowardly'.
And fellow Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham said the British government is treating the refugee crisis as if it is nothing more than a 'tedious inconvenience' for holidaymakers and urged the UK to 'share the burden of caring for genuine asylum seekers'.
Mr Cameron has been warned his hopes of overhauling the European Union will be blocked if Britain refuses to accept more refugees from north Africa.
Austria and Germany - key allies in the Prime Minister's push for change in Brussels - have condemned the UK for not opening the doors to asylum seekers.
They warned Mr Cameron that 'solidarity is not a one-way street' and said his hopes of renegotiating EU membership will be scuppered if he behaves like Britain is 'out of the club'.
Mr Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU before holding an in-out vote by the end of 2017.
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