Migrants continue to arrive on the Greek island of Kos, many of them reunited with friends and family who had previously made the journey, as the crisis grows. In the early hours of 20 August, an overcrowded dinghy carrying around 50 people, mainly families and young men from Syria, landed on the beach in Kos.
Their arrival in Greece was met with jubilation by those on board, and many of those waiting for them on the beach. Several more boats arrived within an hour. Hundreds of asylum seekers arrive in Kos every day.
On top of its economic crisis, cash-strapped Greece has been battling a huge influx in migrants arriving by boat from neighbouring Turkey in recent weeks. About 21,000 people landed on Greek shores last week alone, prompting Athens to appeal to the European Union for help. The number of arrivals in Greece last week equalled almost half the entire number for 2014 and brings this years total to 160,000.
Many of the arrivals have escaped the Syrian civil war, making their way through Turkey before crossing the narrow stretch of water to Kos and other Greek islands in inflatable dinghies and small boats to seek refuge in the European Union.
The Greek Red Cross said it was delivering humanitarian aid worth 300,000 Swiss francs (£197,000, $310,000) to people on Kos. Some 300-400 migrants have been given survival kits and packages for infants and women. Nearly 250,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, and at least 2,349 have died while attempting the journey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says.
