Video released on Wednesday by the European Union’s border agency Frontex reveals the moment two men were first spotted lying aboard a dinghy floating in the Mediterranean. 

A still image of the video footage was released on Tuesday by the Armed Forces of Malta, after a rescue team dispatched to the boat found one dead man and one in a critical condition.

The 50-second video published on Wednesday reveals how the two men were first spotted by a Frontex plane patrolling the central Mediterranean.

Frontex said it immediately alerted Malta’s rescue coordination centre, which sent a helicopter to the spot. 

The footage shows two AFM swimmers being lowered into the water, making their way to the boat where they find the man and the body of another. 

It then shows the survivor being hoisted up from the rubber boat to the helicopter before being taken to hospital. His condition is not known.

There are no details about where the men were from.

AFM later also rescued a separate boat with 27 people on board, Frontex added. 

The rescue and recovery comes amid the latest crisis in the Mediterranean, as two migrant ships with hundreds on board have been given no port to go to.

Two ships, carrying 503 people are waiting for a place to disembark, after being denied entry by both Malta and Italy. 

Some 147 people are on board the Spanish-registered Open Arms, which is currently off Lampedusa. 

There are concerns about the safety of its passengers. One journalist, currently on board tweeted a video showing the boat rocking amid choppy waters.

A further 356 migrants - including over 100 children - are stuck on board the Ocean Viking.

Jay Berger,  Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) Project Coordinator, who is onboard the Ocean Viking, said many of the passengers displayed the marks of physical and psychological violence from their journey through Libya. 

“We are now asking for a place of safety to disembark these vulnerable people without delay," he said. "They have suffered enough.”