Tragedy and Rescue at Sea

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Volunteer lifeguards from Spain set out on a jet ski in a gale-force storm from the beach of Lesbos island, Greece, to attempt an offshore rescue of an estimated 300 asylum seekers and migrants from a sinking fishing vessel.  October 28, 2105. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Volunteer medics provide emergency care to survivors of a major boat sinking off Lesbos island, Greece.  October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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A child survivor of a major boat wreck off Lesbos island in Greece is wrapped in blankets as treatment for hypothermia. October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Exhausted survivors of a major boat sinking involving some 300 people sleep side by side in a local church on Lesbos island in Greece. Many local residents also opened up their homes to house survivors of the tragedy. October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Survivors weep after being reunited with family members following the sinking of a boat carrying some 300 migrants and asylum seekers. At least 34 remained missing after the rescue effort and are feared drowned. October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Child survivors of a major boat sinking involving some 300 people warm themselves inside a private home on Lesbos island in Greece. Many of those who drowned in the tragedy were infants and young children. October 28 , 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Survivors of a major boat wreck off Lesbos island in Greece, suffering from hypothermia, are wrapped in blankets inside a local church. Many local families also opened their homes to the more than 200 survivors of the disaster.  October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Exhausted survivors of a major boat sinking off Lesbos island in Greece sleep on a table in a local restaurant, wrapped in thermal blankets. Many spent hours in the water before being rescued. October 28, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Spanish lifeguard volunteers scan the sea at Lesbos for boats in trouble. Months into the crisis, volunteers remain at the center of many rescue efforts. October 27, 2015.   © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Volunteer lifeguards from Spain guide in a rubber dinghy overcrowded with migrants and asylum seekers on the beaches of Lesbos, Greece. October 27, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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Volunteer lifeguards from Spain assist an elderly woman on the beach of Lesbos, Greece after her arrival on an overcrowded rubber dinghy. On many days, more than 100 rubber dinghies arrive on a ten-mile stretch of beaches on the island. October 27, 2015. © 2015 Javier Bauluz
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A volunteer Spanish lifeguard carries a recently arrived young girl to safety on the beaches of Lesbos, Greece. Thousands arrive on dangerously overloaded boats. October 27, 2015 © 2015 Javier Bauluz

On October 28, 2015, a Turkish fishing boat carrying some 300 people trying to reach Europe sank near Greece, causing at least 7 to drown, including 4 children, with at least 34 still missing.