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Father of Drowned Syrian Boy Alan Kurdi Denies Being a 'People Smuggler'

An Iraqi couple has accused Abdullah Kurdi of commandeering the boat that capsized en route to a Greek island. “I lost my family, I lost my life, I lost everything. So let them say whatever they want,” Kurdi said.
Imagen por Mehmet Can Meral/AP

An Iraqi couple is alleging that the father of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose body washed ashore on a Turkish beach last week, was the captain of the boat that capsized on its way to a Greek island, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people, including Alan, his wife and other son.

Zainab Abbas and Ahmad Hadi, whose two young children died from that boat accident, also told reporters in Baghdad that Abdullah Kurdi was a 'people smuggler' who begged them not to tell police in Turkey that he was the captain.

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Abbas further explained to reporters that Kurdi was driving the crowded boat at a high speed and that her husband was trying to get him to slow down. According to the couple, Kurdi became distracted when one of his sons started to cry and he lost control of the boat before it crashed into a wave.

Kurdi has denied the allegations. He says he paid smugglers 4,000 Euros for the voyage. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal from Syria, where he recently buried his family, he maintains that the boat was captained by a Turkish man who abandoned it after the engine conked out.

"I lost my family, I lost my life, I lost everything. So let them say whatever they want," Kurdi said.

Related: Canada's Prime Minister Refuses To Take Additional Refugees After Backlash Over Drowned Syrian Boy

The photo of Kurdi's dead son, Alan, has become a symbol of the plight of Syrian refugees desperate for a better life, even if that means risking everything by getting on a makeshift dinghy to Europe. It also created a firestorm of controversy around Canada's refugee system, as it was first reported that the Canadian government had denied Alan and his family entry into the country. It later emerged that it was, in fact, Alan's uncle who had been rejected.

Kurdi has also said he still blames the Canadians government for the death of his family because it rejected his asylum claim — even though the immigration ministry says it never received such an application from him.

Kurdi's brother-in-law, Rocco Logozzo, who lives in British Columbia with Kurdi's sister, Tima, told The Canadian Press that the Iraqis' account is "simply untrue and made up."

"We certainly feel for the woman on the boat, who also lost her children. We hope people help her with her plight and help her leave Iraq. She and her family did not deserve this tragedy."

Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter: @rp_browne