Dramatic video appears to show the moment a boat carrying hundreds of refugees capsized off Libya

A video released by the Italian navy's official website appears to show the moment a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people capsized off the coast of Libya.

At least 20 people are believed to have died as a result, according to the Associated Press, while 88 others have been rescued. More than 7,000 migrants have been rescued by the Italian coastguard since Monday, Reuters reported, with around 900 rescued in seven different coastguard operations on Thursday alone. 

"Capsizing scary & deadly," Christopher Miller, a former Mashable reporter, said on Twitter. "As the [Migrant Offshore Aid Station] put it when I was embedded: 'When those boats flip, you can kiss anyone below deck goodbye.'"

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Europe's refugee crisis

Syria's brutal, five-year civil war has spawned the largest refugee crisis Europe has seen since World War II. This year alone, as many as 37,700 refugees have made the dangerous journey across across the Mediterranean from the Middle East and North Africa to Italy. In 2015, 200,000 refugees landed in Greece and 110,000 more arrived in Italy.

The Mediterranean Sea continues to be the deadliest route for refugees and migrants, according to the UN's refugee agency. As of December 2015, more than 3,770 people had drowned trying to cross.