A two-year-old Syrian boy is the first sea migrant casualty of 2016, while 10 other asylum seekers were injured, the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station said this evening.

Khalid, a Syrian boy who was travelling to Greece with his mother died when the rubber raft he was on was slammed against the rocks on the Aegean island of Nera, this morning.

The boy’s body was pulled out of the water by fishermen from Aghatonisi, the larger island of the archipelago that Nera forms part of.

The remaining 35 people on board the dinghy made it out alive but some just barely.

Nothing can prepare you for the horrific reality of what is going on

MOAS said the migrants endured five hours in heavy seas only to end up shipwrecked upon jagged rocks. The 60-metre MOAS ship Responder was launched by the joint rescue coordination centre in Piraeus to conduct search and rescue operations. But a small baby boy had drowned and 10 people were injured by the violent impact on the sharp island rocks.

A three-month old infant boy was severely hypothermic and was stabilised. MOAS coordinated with local NGOs on the island, together with the two local fishermen, three French medical staff from Medecins Sans Frontieres as well onboard volunteers from CISOM and the ERRC Emergency Response Rescue Corps. The Swedish Sea Rescue Society also assisted, while a quayside restaurant participated in the rescue by sheltering a number of the refugees.

One of the girls rescued by MOAS.

Although movement of refugees from Turkey has been reduced by freezing windy conditions, the high seas and numbing cold have not stopped refugees from making the five-hour crossing.

“Nothing can prepare you for the horrific reality of what is going on. Today we came face to face with one of the youngest victims of this ongoing refugee crisis. It is a tragic reminder of the thousands of people who have died trying to reach safety in miserable conditions,” said MOAS founder Christopher Catrambone.

“The light in all of this darkness is that there are so many individuals and organisations dedicating themselves to saving lives. As we have seen today, collaboration and cooperation is crucial to all of us being effective in our efforts,” he added.

MOAS launched its life-saving mission in the Aegean Sea late last month in the waters between Turkey and Greece, Last week, MOAS rescued some 59 refugees from two separate unseaworthy boats and will continue to mount search and rescue operations where needed.