Abdullah Kurdi, the father of two boys who drowned and washed up on a beach near the resort of Bodrum, Türkiye, was distraught after going to the morgue to identify the bodies of his relatives.

Abdullah Kurdi, 40, burst into tears as he emerged from the morgue of the city of Mugla, near Bodrum, Türkiye, where the body of his son Aylan, 3, washed ashore on September 2.

Turkish media said Abdullah was the man’s surname, while many sources in Syria said his name was actually Shenu.

 Aylan’s 5-year-old brother, Galip, and his mother, Rehan, 35, were among 12 people killed when two boats carrying them to the island of Kos, Greece, capsized.

`I just want to sit next to the grave of my wife and two children,` Abdullah told reporters as the coffin containing his loved one was loaded into the hearse.

Hurriyet quoted a police statement as saying that Abdullah had to pay smugglers twice to take him, his wife and children to Greece.

`I held my wife’s hand, and the children slipped out of my arms. We tried to hold the boat. Everyone screamed in the thick night. My wife and two children could not hear me calling,` Abdullah shared.

Security officers in the city of Mugla, Türkiye, said the bodies of three relatives of Abdullah would be flown via Istanbul to the city of Sanliurfa.

According to Reuters, Abdullah’s family wanted to go to Canada after fleeing the town of Kobani.

Photo of baby Aylan washed up on the beach (consider before viewing)

Pressure on Europe

Images of Aylan washing up at one of Türkiye’s most famous resorts spread quickly on social networks and put pressure on European leaders.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the immigration crisis with his French counterpart Francois Hollande.

Türkiye was praised by the international community for welcoming 2 million immigrants since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, spending 6 billion USD to care for them and only receiving 400 million USD in outside assistance. .

World artists mourn the drowning Syrian boy

Tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing war boarded boats to Greece.

Images on the Dogan news agency’s website show Zeynep Abbas Hadi, a survivor, fainting when he saw the bodies of his two children.

`The boat could only carry 10 but they crammed 17. My brother and I had to pay $2,280 each for this trip,` Dogan quoted Syrian Omer Mohsin, who is still alive, as saying.

The video also shows another child, believed to be Aylan’s brother, lying on the sand.

`When I realized there was no way to bring the boy back to life, I thought I had to take this photo so the world could see the tragedy. I hope the impact the photo creates will help bring about a solution,` CNN quoted

Abdullah Kurdi lost both his sons Alan, 3 years old (red shirt) and Ghalib, 5 years old, when the whole family left their homeland engulfed in war to go to Europe.