Russian photographer Sergey Ponomarev has been declared winner of the highest award of the China International Press Photo Contest (CHIPP) for his photo of refugees ferrying to Europe.

Ponomarev's photo capturing the arrival of a boat laden with refugees at the Greek island Lesbos in November 2015 won Photo of the Year for 2015 in the contest held by the China Photojournalist Society. "Europe Refugees," as Ponomarev named his photograph, was chosen among more than 30,000 photos taken by  photographers from all corners of the world.

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For his work on reporting Europe's refugee crisis, Ponomarev's photo also won the World Press Photo Award for General News earlier this year.The 35-year-old photographer was also nominated for the esteemed Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2015.

The photo of the refugee boat carrying women, men and children tugged at the hearts of the jury as it tells a tale of broken hearts of the people torn from their homeland.  

"Although we see no conflict or confrontation, we sense the hardship that awaits the people in the photo and fear for their fate," said Qi Heng, Deputy Secretary General of the Photojournalist Society of China.

The prestigious contest took place in Chengdu, Southwest China. It provided a platform for the works of photographers from more than 70 countries. The contest, which was first held in 2005, has since gained great fame and acclaim in the international community.

In addition to photo of the year, the contest had eight different categories including war and conflict, disaster and disease, as well as general news. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded to winners in these categories for their commendable work and the award-winning photos will be exhibited in Chengdu in June before touring overseas. 

Tagsphotography project, Photography, Contest, worldwide contest, Photojournalist, photojournalism, photographer, refugee crisis, Syrian refugees, Europe, Greece, island of Lesbos