Overwhelmed with fear, desperation and relief at arriving in Kos, Greece, the middle eastern man can be seen cradling his son’s head to his chest, while his baby daughter wraps her arms around his neck.
The Syrian refugee had travelled from Deir Ezzor (now essentially a bomb site) with his family on a flimsy inflatable boat carrying 15 people, and was captured hitting dry land by photographer Daniel Etter.
After the snap was shared online, Etter tweeted: ‘I am overwhelmed by the reaction to this family’s tears of relief. This is why I do what I do.’
The photographer told Spiegel Online:
‘After more than two hours of driving the boat had lost air, water had leaked into it, the refugees were soaked when they arrived at the shore. They were then completely relieved to have arrived safely.
‘In that moment it all came at them together, the joy of having done it; the love for their family; the grief over what had happened.’
The photographer also tweeted mail he received from an Irish officer who helped save hundreds of migrant lives in the med, he said: 'People need to be awakened to the plight of their fellow humans.'
The number of sea arrivals to Greece since the start of the year is 158,456, with the vast majority of these being Syrians fleeing their war torn country.
'People need to be awakened to the plight of their fellow humans.'
But thousands drown trying to make the crossing, with the numbers dead expected to surpass last year's total of 3,000+.
A brutal civil war is ongoing in the middle eastern country, during which over 200,000 people have lost their lives.