Italian Navy vessel rescues 550 as deaths at sea top 1370

An Italian Navy ship has saved the lives of 550 people fleeing Libya, after the barge they had been sailing on capsized just outside Libyan territorial waters.

Five people lost their lives in the accident.

Numbers of reported deaths in the Mediterranean so far this year

#SAR #MarinaMilitare nave Bettica in soccorso a barcone #MareSicuro #migranti recuperati oltre 550 e 5 salme pic.twitter.com/10RUaJ8wNu

— Marina Militare (@ItalianNavy) May 25, 2016

The news emerged from a tweet published on the Italian Navy's official Twitter account at approximately 4pm .

The deaths bring the total of lives lost while crossing the Mediterranean from Africa this year to 1375.