'The Crossing' explores human face of crisis

For the past 18 months the Irish Naval Service has had a presence in the Mediterranean due to the amount of people attempting to cross into Europe from northern Africa.

Over that period, 14,000 people have been rescued by the crews of the five Irish vessels that have been deployed to the Mediterranean.

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Almost 4,000 people have died trying to make the crossing in 2016 alone - more than in any other year.

The Crossing tells the story of life on board the LÉ Samuel Beckett for one month.

The Irish vessel was deployed to the southern Mediterranean on a three-month mission in late September.

Since then, the ship's crew has saved more than 2,000 lives during an intensive period of rescues.

Watch The Crossing on RTÉ Player here (Island of Ireland only).

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