In a dramatic night-time effort, rescuers from a non-profit ship in the Mediterranean saved 75 people from a fibreglass boat that capsized in international waters off the coast of North Africa.
The packed boat was riding low in the water as the crew from the Geo Barents rescue ship approached.
VIDEO: Dramatic night rescue of migrants
The team managed to distribute lifejackets and had begun taking migrants aboard rescue dinghies when the fibreglass boat flipped over leaving 45 people in the water.
As desperate people cried out for help from the water, three to five rescuers at a time struggled to heave migrants to safety over the side of the rescue dinghy.
The desperate cries of the migrants are interspersed with the rescuers shouting “one, two, three” as the pull in unison on the heavy, water-soaked people in the water.
They managed to rescue all 75 people.
(With inputs from agency)
