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In pictures: World Press Photo Contest 2016

Australian photographer Warren Richardson scoops top prize with image of Syrian man passing baby under barbed wire fence at Serbia/Hungary border

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A picture by Australian photographer Warren Richardson that won the World Press Photo of the Year award and 1st prize singles in the Spot News category of the 59th annual World Press Photo Contest. The picture shows man passing a baby through the fence at the Serbia/Hungary border in Roeszke, Hungary on August 28, 2015.
Rachel Blundy

A haunting image of a Syrian man passing a baby under a barbed wire fence at the Serbia/Hungary border has been announced as the winner of the 59th World Press Photo Contest.

The scene, entitled Hope for a New Life, was captured in Roszke, Hungary by Australian photographer Warren Richardson.

It was taken as a group of Syrian migrants tried to reach Hungary after they spent several hours hiding on an apple tree farm in Horgoš, Serbia in August last year.

READ MORE: In 8 pictures: National Geographic prize-winning teen Hong Kong photographer’s stunning journey to success

Richardson has described how he only registered the significance of his eerie black-and-white photograph when he returned home to process it.

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He told The Guardian: “When I was at home I had all the lights off, because I work when my family’s asleep, and all of a sudden this picture comes up and it was the same thing.

“I just lifted the levels slightly and the image emerged from the darkness. It kind of made me gulp. It made my heart-rate pick up.”

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The competition’s winners were announced by the WPP Foundation in Amsterdam on February 18.

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