--- description: Video footage released by the Turkish coast guard shows the rescue of a 20-year-old refugee from the tip of a sinking boat in the Aegean Sea title: See the Dramatic Rescue of a Syrian Refugee From a Sinking Boat image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb251b7d5849401d/69887d310a4a224c6a9c8552/syria-refugee-turkey-boat-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the Dramatic Rescue of a Syrian Refugee From a Sinking Boat  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2016 7:16 PM CUT  A Syrian refugee is seen atop the bow of his nearly sunken boat in the Aegean Sea, off the western coast of Turkey, Feb. 8, 2016. A Syrian refugee is seen atop the bow of his nearly sunken boat in the Aegean Sea, off the western coast of Turkey, Feb. 8, 2016.Turkish Coast Guard/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2016 7:16 PM CUT The sea crossing between the western coast of Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos is just a few kilometers in some places. But it remains the deadliest maritime route for migrants and refugees aiming for Europe. In [newly released](http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-coast-guard-saves-lone-syrian-refugee-stranded-on-sinking-boat.aspx?pageID=238&nID=95025&NewsCatID=341 "undefined") raw video footage, the Turkish coast guard is seen responding to a deadly capsizing close to Edremit, near the Greek island of Lesbos. At least 27 people drowned in the incident, the latest in a string of tragedies in the Aegean Sea. A Syrian refugee identified as Pelen Hussein was spotted on the bow of the nearly sunken boat by a coast guard helicopter, which dropped a rescuer into the water and helped him to safety.  A refugee identified as 20-year old Pelen Hussein from Syria, is seen on a Turkish Coast Guard Air Command helicopter after being rescued in the Aegean Sea off Edremit, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2016. Turkish Coast Guard Command/Reuters “He was on the verge of hypothermia, and in a state of shock,” Tuncay Ceylan, the coastguard sergeant who rescued him, told Turkish media in remarks cited by AFP. “I tried to calm him down.” This week, the International Organization for Migration [announced](https://www.iom.int/news/mediterranean-migrant-arrivals-2016-pass-76000-deaths-top-400 "undefined") that at least 409 people have died while crossing the Mediterranean this year; 319 of those deaths were in the sea route between Turkey and Greece. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4215305/dramatic-rescue-syrian-refugee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4215305/dramatic-rescue-syrian-refugee/"},"headline":"See the Dramatic Rescue of a Syrian Refugee From a Sinking Boat","datePublished":"2016-02-10T19:16:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:26.275Z","description":"A 20-year-old man was spotted on the tip of a sinking vessel in the Aegean Sea","url":"https://time.com/4215305/dramatic-rescue-syrian-refugee/","keywords":["europe","Refugees","Turkey","Greece","Refugee crisis","migrant"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb251b7d5849401d/69887d310a4a224c6a9c8552/syria-refugee-turkey-boat-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Katz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/andrew-katz/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb251b7d5849401d/69887d310a4a224c6a9c8552/syria-refugee-turkey-boat-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"syria-refugee-turkey-boat-rescue","caption":"A Syrian refugee is seen atop the bow of his nearly sunken boat in the Aegean Sea, off the western coast of Turkey, Feb. 8, 2016.","creditText":"Turkish Coast Guard/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4215305/dramatic-rescue-syrian-refugee/","name":"See the Dramatic Rescue of a Syrian Refugee From a Sinking Boat"}}]}] ```