Almost 800 migrants have been rescued from a wooden barge crossing the Mediterranean - including a tiny baby - as 20 boats were stopped by the Irish Navy.

The Irish vessel LÉ Samuel Beckett rescued 772 migrants during a 'complex search and rescue operation' off the coast of Tripoli, Libya.

The rescue started at 6.30am this morning and all migrants were safely on board the ship by 2.30pm.

The rescue took place after a request from the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre.

The Irish Naval Service vessel located the migrants about 36 nautical miles northeast of the Libyan capital, according to the Irish Times.

The rescued migrants were given food, water and medical treatment.

In a statement on Friday night, the Defence Forces said the LÉ Samuel Beckett was bringing some of the migrants to an Italian ship. 

According to the UN, at least 3,654 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, the bulk of them on the Libya-Italy route.

Attempts at the dangerous crossing are continuing despite worsening weather as winter approaches, with more than 2,400 migrants rescued off Libya in total since Sunday.

The Italian interior ministry said Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.

The number of arrivals is similar to that of the previous two years but the pressure on the country's reception facilities is mounting as it has become harder for migrants to move on to other EU countries.