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London: Five migrants have died, but 562 were saved after an overcrowded barge sunk off the coast of Libya – and the moment was captured in disturbing images published by the Italian navy.
The navy said its patrol boats Bettica and Bergamini had been on a surveillance and security mission in the Sicilian Channel when they saw "a barge floating in precarious conditions with numerous migrants on board".
"Shortly afterwards the boat capsized due to overcrowding and instability due to the high humber of people on board," the navy said in a press release on Wednesday.
The Bettica launched life rafts and life jackets while the Bergamini frigate sent helicopter and rescue vessels.
The navy confirmed 562 migrants were rescued, but five corpses were also recovered.
Almost 200,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Europe so far this year, according to the latest figures from the International Organisation for Migration.
Of those, 191,000 came by sea, and 1370 were dead or missing in the Mediterranean.
The third week of May saw a big increase in arrivals in both Italy and Greece from the previous week – up 52 per cent in Italy and 89 per cent in Greece.
Another group of more than 1000 migrants was picked up in the Mediterranean and were expected to arrive at the port of Salerno on Thursday.
There are almost a quarter of a million migrants known to be in Libya at the moment, where most of the crossings to Italy originate.
The IOM's latest report recorded another large growth in migrants moving from Niger to Libya. The main cause was conflict and insecurity. Around 15 per cent of migrants leaving Niger said their final destination was Libya, while 15 per cent said Europe.
It also found that Syrian nationals have been flying direct to West African capitals in order to make their way north to the Mediterranean.
Earlier this month the Italian navy rescued 1759 migrants from ten different vessels in just one day, as part of Italy's "Safe Sea" mission.