[WATCH] MOAS in race against time as massive migrant rescue mission continues

Footage sent in by MOAS shows a rescue operation underway

People smugglers have continued to push migrants towards the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean sea, sending hundreds of people on wooden boats and rubber dinghies.

Footage and photos sent in by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station this afternoon shows search and rescue officers racing against time to carry out four rescue missions, one of which included a heavily deflated boat which left people in the water.

M.Y. Phoenix, one of two vessels operated by MOAS, saved a total of 414 people from a wooden boat (27 persons) and three rubber boats (387 persons). A sinking rubber boat was carrying 134 people on boat.

With the amount of people in the sea, the Phoenix was forced to deploy air-droppable life rafts and the centifloat – a 16-metre, tube-shaped float with grab handles that can be inflated within minutes.

No deaths were reported thanks to the swift action taken by the MOAS rescuers, although a number of saved refugees required the immediate attention of the medical team on board, led by the Italian Red Cross.

Earlier this week, a heavy rescue mission involving private missions, Italian authorities and Frontex vessels, lasted 36 hours with some 10,000 refugees being rescued. The figures made it one of the largest ever rescue operations out at sea.

In just one morning, 6,900 migrants and refugees were saved from 44 rubber dinghies, eight small wooden boars and two large vessels.