Heart-wrenching photos of migrants being flipped into the sea as their overcrowded boat overturns off the coast of Libya

Over a hundreds refugees were thrown into water when their wooden boat capsized off the Libyan coast. The vessel which was crammed with refugees, started to lean on to its side and when it was apparent it was going to capsize, the frantic passengers began to dive into the water and swim for their lives. 


At least five migrants drowned off before they were rescued and pulled to safety. An Italian patrol boat actually saw that the vessel was in difficulty and approached it a little too late to hand out life jackets as the boat flipped over due to sudden movement of the passengers. They however threw life-rafts/jackets to the migrants in the water. Another navy ship in the area sent a helicopter, rescue boats to handle the emergency and hundreds of migrants were safely rescued. 

More photos