ATHENS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- One of the three Greek grandmothers of Lesvos island who symbolized solidarity with refugees in an iconic photograph which went viral in 2015 passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Maritsa Mavrapidou was one of three elderly women photographed sitting side by side on a bench bottle feeding a baby, while his mother, a Syrian refugee, was standing a few steps away. The picture reflected the compassion local people demonstrated when thousands of refugees started to arrive in the island from Turkey.

Over 1 million people have reached Greece since 2015 and thousands still keep risking their lives, seeking refuge from warzones and extreme poverty in Europe. About half of them landed on Lesvos' shores.

As a child of refugees who fled to Lesvos from Turkey in the early 1920s, Mavrapidou and her friends, Aimilia Kamvysi and Efstratia Mavrapidou, from the small village of Skala Sykamnias, did their best to support many refugees who washed up on the beach near their village.

Despite their advanced years, they went down to the shore every day with other volunteers to assist the people arriving. They were even put forward as candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.

"They are good people. They are tired from the journey and they still help me carry wood for my stove," Mavrapidou told AMNA when asked why they were helping the refugees.

Lefteris Partsalis, who is cooperating with Xinhua as a photo journalist, was the Greek photographer whose lens captured this heartwarming moment that became a symbol of humanity.

"Grandma Maritsa became famous thanks to this good deed she did during the refugee crisis. She had done several good deeds in her life, but with this one, which made her famous worldwide, she left us a legacy to follow in her footsteps," Partsalis told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"I feel honored I held a part in this story," he said. Enditem

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