The death toll in the Mediterranean – the most dangerous border crossing on the planet for migrants and refugees – is estimated to be at least 4,655 this year. This is around 1,000 more than in all of 2015, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

More than 1,4000 boat migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe were rescued on Tuesday (23 November), after at least 11 overcrowded boats set out from Libya amid calm seas. Rescuers also recovered eight dead bodies. The coast guard ship Diciotti took seven bodies from a rubber boat, while one body was recovered from another rubber vessel by the Topaz, a ship run by humanitarian group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS).

Getty Images photographer Dan Kitwood spent some time on the Topaz and captured dramatic pictures of rescues at sea.

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Members of MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station search for boats carrying refugees Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
The dead body of a man wearing a life jacket floats in the Mediterranean approximately 15 miles from the Libyan coast Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
Members of MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) and the Red Cross hoist the dead body of a man believed to be a refugee, who was seen floating with a life jacket approximately 15 miles from the Libyan coast Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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Refugees and migrants in a wooden boat wait to be escorted to the Topaz Responder Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
A wooden boat carrying refugees and migrants waits to be escorted to the Topaz Responder Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
A wooden boat carrying refugees and migrants waits to be escorted to the Topaz Responder Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
Children try to scramble onto a rescue craft Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
Migrants and refugees climb onto a rescue craft from a wooden boat Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
Members of MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) and the Red Cross try to keep a man alive. It is thought he was suffering after breathing fumes from a boat engine Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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A man suffering from shock sits on the (FRDC) Fast Response Daughter Craft after being rescued from a wooden boat Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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A woman collapses on deck. She later recovered Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
A woman in shock, is reunited with her baby daughter Sara, who had been taken for emergency care after being rescued from a wooden boat Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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A boy sits on the deck of Topaz Responder after being rescued from a wooden boat Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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Refugee children have their temperatures taken after being rescue Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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A board detailing the numbers and nationalities of refugees on board is displayed on the Topaz Responder search and rescue vessel Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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Men relax on the deck of the Topaz Responder search and rescue vessel as it makes its way to Vibo Valentia, in Italy Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Migrants Mediterranean Libya Italy
A Syrian man and children look out to sea from the deck of the Topaz Responder as it heads towards Italy Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The number of migrants who have reached Italy by boat this year so far is 168,000. This exceeds the 154,000 total for the whole of 2015 and is quickly approaching 2014's 170,000 record. Italy has borne the brunt of new arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece.

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