Sea Rescue Operation Highlights Migrants' Plight

A woman is assisted by members of the Red Cross as members of MOAS make rescues at sea on November 22, 2016 in Pozzollo Italy. 

The MOAS team worked through the night and into the next morning rescuing about 600.  MOAS is currently patrolling international waters off the coast of Libya, and running rescue missions for the many migrants and refugees who continue to attempt to make the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. 

Rescue crew rush to administer CPR on a rescued man. The man died moments later.

The death toll in the Mediterranean - the most dangerous border crossing on the planet for migrants - is estimated to be 4,655 this year, 1,000 more than in all of 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration.

A young girl tries to scramble from a rescue craft during the rescue operation.

Refugees and migrants wait to be escorted to the rescue vessel.

MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) is a Malta-based foundation dedicated to providing professional search-and-rescue assistance to refugees and migrants in distress at sea and work alongside with the Red Cross on board the Topaz Responder.

Men queue to get onto a rescue craft from a wooden boat.

A young refugee is assisted as she waits to board the rescue vessel.

Rescue crews search men as they board the rescue vessel.

A boy sits on the deck after being rescued from a wooden boat