A two-year-old boy has become the first migrant casualty of the year after the dinghy he was travelling in slammed into rocks off Greece's Agathonisi island.

The rubber vessel had set off from Turkey early yesterday morning in windy weather when the toddler's body was pulled out of the water by fishermen.

The other 39 passengers, including the boy's mother, were rescued after local fishermen raised the alarm.

There was no immediate information about their nationalities.