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Underwater museum casts light on Syrian refugee crisis

Click to play video: 'Underwater museum exhibits the plight of refugees'
Underwater museum exhibits the plight of refugees
WATCH: Dive, deep down into the Atlantic Ocean to see Europe's first underwater museum. – Feb 23, 2016

An underwater museum, the first of its kind in Europe, opens up to the public this week, to pay tribute to the refugees who’ve died at sea.

“Raft of Lampedusa,” a sculpted boat carrying 13 refugees, sits 15-metres deep off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands in Lanzarote. The sculptures are inspired by real people and real stories.

Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor created his statues based on real people. Jason deCaires Taylor

Other statues include a faceless couple taking a selfie, people glued to their phones and others wielding an iPad.

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The installation is part of an underwater museum called Museo Atlantico by Jason deCaires Taylor. The concrete is non-toxic and designed to encourage coral growth.

Over the past decade Taylor has built other underwater sculptures from London to Mexico. Many have transformed into artificial coral reefs.

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