A toddler migrant is plucked from the water by a volunteer lifeguard after a boat carrying around 150 refugees started to sink in the Aegean sea

Human tragedy: The body of a child lies on a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos, after 22 people – including nine children and four babies – drowned when their boat sank during the perilous crossing

Saviour: A lifeguard rescues a child as a boat with refugees and migrants sunk, while crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos

Horrific: Most of the migrant vessels making the dangerous journey are in bad condition and are heavily overcrowded

Despair: One man struggles to stay on board the boat as the rough seas force the passengers to take evasive action

Hanging in there: One desperate refugee woman hangs on a rope having escaped the half-sunken catamaran carrying around 150 refugees

Sorrow: One young boy screams and cries in terror as the boat wildly rocks in the strong currents off the coast of Lesbos

Too young: The body of a young boy, who drowned while making the perilous crossing from Turkey, lies on a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos. It was one of the worst accidents in Greek waters since the mass migrant flows started after the war in Syria

Sinking ship: An overcrowded refugee boat begins to sink off the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey