Canada accepts family of Alan Kurdi, the five-year-old refugee photographed drowned on Turkish beach

The aunt of a Syrian refugee boy whose lifeless body was photographed on a Turkish beach, sparking worldwide outrage at the migrant crisis, said she hoped her family members would be in Canada by Christmas.

Tima Kurdi said on Friday that Canada has approved her application to bring her brother Mohammed and his family to Canada, but that security checks were still underway.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman Remi Lariviere would only confirm that the department has communicated with the Kurdi family.

"We can confirm that the processing of their application is proceeding well," said Lariviere.

Mohammed Kurdi is the uncle of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, who drowned, along with his five-year-old brother and their mother, while crossing the treacherous waters from Turkey to Greece. The family was attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos.

Alan Kurdi's father, Abdullah, was one of the few who survived their overloaded boat ride. A photo of Alan Kurdi's washed up body in early September sparked international momentum to help Syrian refugees.