Anguished dad of drowned Syrian boys: ‘I realized they were all dead’

A Turkish gendarme carries a young migrant who drowned in a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos.

Abdullah Kurdi, 40, father of boys

ANKARA, Turkey — The father of a 3-year-old Syrian boy photographed lying dead on a Turkish beach has described how their overloaded boat flipped over in the sea and he quickly realized his two sons and his wife had drowned.

Abdullah Kurdi said Thursday that the boat’s captain panicked due to high waves and jumped into the sea, leaving him in control of the small craft with his family and other migrants aboard.

He said the small boat, headed for the Greek island of Kos, was overloaded with 12 migrants and the captain, described as a Turkish man. It was only at sea for four minutes before the captain abandoned the craft, Kurdi said.

“I took over and started steering. The waves were so high and the boat flipped. I took my wife and my kids in my arms and I realized they were all dead,” he said. The distraught father added: “All I want is to be with my children at the moment.”

“My kids were the most beautiful children in the world, wonderful, they wake me up every morning to play with them. They are all gone now,” he said.

Aylan (left), 3yrs and his brother Galip, 5yrs are seen in this undated photo. Neither boy survived their family’s trip from war-torn Syria to the Greek island of Kos.

Galip (right), five, and Aylan Kurdi (left), three, pictured with their father Abdullah who survived the tragedy

Tragic: The bodies of his wife, Rehan Kurdi, and Syrian boys Aylan, three, and Galip, five, preparing to make their final journey

Source: NYpost