Sky News witnessed first hand the intensity of the rescue as it happened in the Mediterranean Sea, 12 miles off Libya.
This morning, a rescue vessel operated by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) was radioed by the Italian Coast Guard just after 5am.
Migrant on a rescue vest
Over the following three hours, more than 1,000 people were rescued in an operation that involved numerous charities and the Italian Coast Guard.MOAS Onboard Operations Officer Marco Cauchi said: "Today it was intense for the fact the rubber boats were jam-packed... they put as many people as they can... they put in 160 people it was incredible.
"These boats are built to only take 100 people. It was dangerously loaded.
"People were jumping out, fumes were coming up, people were fainting, so it was horrible."
The Responder vessel, operated by MOAS, began its rescue just after 5.30am (local time).
A small rescue craft was dispatched from the larger ship, heading out into the dark towards the dim single light of the migrant boat.
As we approached, what at first looked like a tiny dinghy quickly revealed itself to be a large dinghy with 160 people on board.
Initially, the rescue went to plan. The MOAS team distributed life jackets to the migrants, tried to calm them down and manoeuvre them towards the Responder ship.
From the centre of the rubber dinghy we could see two babies being held high by their parents.
As the Responder ship moved itself closer to the dinghy, the migrants panicked - brought on by a combination of the fact that it was dark, many of them can't swim and some had inhaled toxic fumes from low quality fuel on their boat.
In seconds, a textbook rescue turned into a nightmare. The migrant boat, filled only with air and completely inappropriate for the open seas, partially capsized.
At least 20 people fell into the water. It was impossible to count the precise number. The rescue team dived into the water - something they later told me they do only in extreme circumstances.
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