Introduction

In the first of three programmes, the BBC’s Frey Lindsay accompanies the charity rescue vessel the Ocean Viking to explore the myriad costs involved in irregular migration across the Mediterranean.

Each year hundreds of thousands of people attempt the extremely dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy, paying smugglers thousands of dollars. We meet some of those people and find out how and why they're making the journey.

Presenter/producer: Frey Lindsay

(Picture: Rescuees huddle onboard the SOS Méditerranée rescue ship The Ocean Viking. Credit: BBC)