A photo of a drowned migrant baby is being circulated online by a German humanitarian group trying to prompt more help for refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

The photo — similar to last year's viral photo depicting a drowned three-year-old boy — shows an infant who was pulled dead out of the sea after a wooden boat capsized. The rescue was carried out by the group Sea-Watch, which is urging European governments to help refugees make the dangerous voyage safely.

An Italian navy ship responding to the overturned boat picked up 135 survivors and 45 bodies, arriving in the southern Italian port of Reggio Calabria on Sunday.

More than 8,000 people have died while crossing the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2014, attempting to escape violence in Syria and surrounding areas. Last year, a photo showing a three-year-old boy who washed up on a Turkish beach prompted widespread sympathy toward the plight of refugees.

The rescuer of the infant said he had spotted the baby in the water "like a doll, arms outstretched." "I took hold of the forearm of the baby and pulled the light body protectively into my arms at once, as if it were still alive," he said in a statement. "It held out its arms with tiny fingers into the air, the sun shone into its bright, friendly but motionless eyes."

"I began to sing to comfort myself and to give some kind of expression to this incomprehensible, heart-rending moment," added the man, who gave his name only as "Martin." "Just six hours ago this child was alive."

Sea-Watch says the child's body was immediately handed over to the Italian navy. The group, which says it collected about 25 other bodies, is calling for European authorities to allow migrants safe and legal passage for refugees in order to halt people-smuggling.

"If we do not want to see such pictures we have to stop producing them," the group said in a statement.