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When the team goes on a rescue, the first step is to distribute life jackets. On 3 October, MSF carried out a rescue in collaboration with an Irish warship.  When we eventually got there, we realised that some people had been in the water for quite some time. Some of them had already inhaled fuel and drunk a lot of sea water. A 34-year-old pregnant woman from Nigeria died after we failed to reanimate her. In the midst of the busy rescue operation, there were six bodies in the water that couldn’t be recovered. These people died anonymously. A mother lost her two children. She had tried to secure them, but the boat cracked and broke and she found herself in the water, unable to hold onto them anymore.
On 3 October, MSF carried out a rescue with an Irish ship. People had been in the water for quite a while by the time we arrived, and some had swallowed fuel and seawater. A 34-year-old pregnant woman from Nigeria died after we failed to resuscitate her. In the midst of the busy rescue operation, there were also six bodies in the water that couldn't be recovered. A mother lost her two children after she found herself in the water and was unable to keep hold of them.
© Mohammad Ghannam/MSF

October - A merciless month on the Mediterranean

On 3 October, MSF carried out a rescue with an Irish ship. People had been in the water for quite a while by the time we arrived, and some had swallowed fuel and seawater. A 34-year-old pregnant woman from Nigeria died after we failed to resuscitate her. In the midst of the busy rescue operation, there were also six bodies in the water that couldn't be recovered. A mother lost her two children after she found herself in the water and was unable to keep hold of them.
© Mohammad Ghannam/MSF
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More than 4,200 people have died or gone missing so far in 2016 in the Mediterranean Sea. The year is not yet over, but it has now become the deadliest on record for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean, trying to reach Europe. Here are some images taken in October aboard the MSF search and rescue boat Dignity I.