Over 1,000 migrants rescued off Italian coast waiting for safe port
Rome, Jul 26 (EFE).- Over 1,000 people rescued off the central Mediterranean by three humanitarian vessels were waiting for a safe port to disembark on Tuesday.
“We urgently need a safe port. We have 439 people rescued in five operations in less than 26 hours over the last weekend on board,” Anne, head of operations of the German NGO Sea Watch vessel said in a video posted to Twitter.
European maritime and humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee also called on the European authorities to provide a safe port after its last rescue operation.
“Many are exhausted and show signs of emotional distress after spending more than 10 hours at sea. 387 survivors are now on Ocean Viking,” the NGO wrote on Twitter.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also said that there were 189 survivors on board of its Geo Barents.
“In addition to the two-year-old girl rescued during the first operation, a one-month-old baby and a pregnant woman have been saved during the last rescue,” it added.
Nearly 2,000 people have arrived on the Italian coast in precarious boats since the weekend.
On Saturday, a drifting fishing boat with 674 people was rescued by a merchant ship and patrol boats from the Italian coast guard 124 miles from the southern Italian region of Calabria. The bodies of five migrants who died from dehydration were recovered next to a merchant ship by security forces.
On Monday, over 1,600 people were crowded in a reception center in the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, technically equipped to host 350 people.
More than 34,000 people have reached the Italian coast this year, compared to the 25,500 recorded in 2021, according to the latest data from the ministry of the interior.EFE
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