Children's charity Save the Children has released an interview with a migrant child who recounted the harrowing journey from Somalia to Italy.  

It's a journey close to 8,000 people have made this year, crossing the Mediterranean heading to Italy.  

The 16-year-old boy told Save the Children that he witnessed fellow migrants pushed overboard by traffickers because they were ill and weak. Many were children.  

Italy ended its large-scale search-and-rescue mission last year because of the cost and amid criticism that it encouraged people to attempt the journey. So far this year the influx of migrants in Italy is up 43 percent.