A Syrian baby found floating face down in the Aegean Sea has been reunited with his mother. Credit:DHA However, once he was aboard, one of the fisherman realised the boy was still alive. The boat's captain later told the Hurriyet newspaper: "He was all pale. We suspected hypothermia as he was cold and his hands and feet were all white. "He was also frothing at the mouth." The boy, identified as Muhammad Hasan, was later taken to Kusadasi​, a town on Turkey's western coast, and then later to Izmir where he was reunited with his family, agencies reported.

A man and a baby disembark from a dinghy after travelling from the Turkish coast to the north-eastern Greek island of Lesbos. Credit:AP The wrenching images of the refugees' plight comes two months after pictures of the drowned three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi shocked the world. Despite the rescue, other refugees have perished on their trek from war-torn Syria into Europe in recent days. An exhausted woman lies on beach after arriving at the Greek island of Lesbos. Credit:AP A woman and two young children drowned, and seven more people were missing, after an inflatable dinghy carrying dozens of migrants from Turkey hit rocks near the Greek island of Lesbos, Greek authorities said on Sunday.

Another 53 people made it ashore after the dinghy sank shortly before dawn on Sunday in choppy waters, according to an official at the Greek Shipping Ministry. "It was very windy, about six or seven Beaufort," the official said, describing near gale-force conditions. The dead children were two and seven, but their ethnic origin was not known, she said. A Greek military helicopter and coast guard vessels searched for another seven people who were believed to have boarded the dinghy on the neighbouring Turkish coast but who did not reach Lesbos. The European Union's border-monitoring agency Frontex contributed to the search with a helicopter and patrol vessel, the ministry said. Sunday's episode added to the grim tally of deaths in the Aegean, which remains a popular crossing point for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war or other hardships. In another tragedy, in Libya, the Red Crescent reported 43 people washed up on beaches east of the capital Tripoli on the weekend trying to cross the Mediterranean, according to Agence France-Presse. Twenty-nine bodies were found on Saturday and 14 on Sunday, in addition to six found on Wednesday. The deceased are believed to be African.

More than half a million people have arrived in Greece alone this year, according to the United Nations refugee agency. There are no precise figures for drownings though the Greek coast guard issues almost daily reports of migrants who have been found dead or who are unaccounted for, often including very young children. Of the about 650,000 people who have crossed into Europe this year, via Greece or other countries such as Italy, more than 3000 have died or are missing, according to figures from the International Organisation for Migration. Greek authorities have repeatedly appealed for support in handling the influx of migrants, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was expected to underscore the pressure Greece faces as the key gateway to Europe at a summit in Brussels on Sunday of leaders of European countries and some Balkan states most affected by the migrant crisis. On arriving at the summit on Sunday afternoon, Mr Tsipras emphasised the need for a "European solution" to a "huge humanitarian crisis". "I believe we have a big responsibility when refugees every day lose their lives in the Aegean Sea," he said. He criticised some countries for adopting an attitude of "not in my own backyard". He also expressed displeasure at the absence of Turkey, a key transit country for migrants heading to Europe, from the summit.

"Everyone knows that at the end of the corridor, there is an entrance," he said. "If we will not be able to agree with the country at the entrance, I am afraid it will be very difficult to find a solution." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who travelled to Turkey last weekend for talks about the refugee crisis, indicated that Turkey's role was critical. "We will not solve the refugee problem completely," she said. "We need, among other things, further talks with Turkey for that." Fairfax Media, New York Times Follow FairfaxForeign on Twitter Follow FairfaxForeign on Facebook