Syrian refugee rescued from sinking boat in nick of time

An asylum seeker has been winched off a floundering boat in the nick of time by the Turkish Coast Guard, but he is just one of tens of thousands seeking safety as the war in his homeland rages on.

Video of the dramatic rescue shows the man balanced precariously on what looks to be the bow of the vessel, less than a metre of which remains above water, before he leaps towards his saviour who hauls him to safety.

His condition is unknown, but as Sky News reports, he is only one man among some 50,000 who have been amassing at the Turkish border, many of them from Aleppo which has been decimated by heavy fighting.

The UN fears 300,000 displaced people might be left unable to access humanitarian aid as Russian and Syrian forces besiege the city, prompting a UNHCR spokesman to implore Turkey to open its borders.

Despite the Turkish government claiming to have an "open door policy" on Syrian asylum seekers, it has kept a key transit point – Kilis, near the Syrian border – closed for several days.