A total of 1,035 peopleincluding a 20 day old babyThey were rescued in the central Mediterranean in recent days by the humanitarian ships Sea Watch3, Ocean Viking and Geo Barents and are now waiting for a port to disembark.
Boats with 700 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean await disembarkation
After the last operations, the ship of the German humanitarian organization Sea Watch sets sail with 439 castaways on boardwhile the Ocean Viking, of the French organization SOS Mediterranée, has 387 and Geo Barents, from Doctors Without Borders (MSF), adds 209 peopleaccording to organizations in social networks.
According to MSF, the last call for help from the Alarm Phone, a helpline for migrants at sea, led to the rescue of 20 people who were in a “small speedboat in distress”.
Half of those rescued, who are on board the Geo Barents, “are minors and the minor is only 20 days old,” says the organization.
Everyone deserves to be safe and our team will continue to provide assistance to those in danger.”
Previously, Sea Watch had written that “439 people needed and had the right to a safe port to disembark”mentioning that these migrants survived the Mediterranean crossing, but “They have been at sea for days, with prohibitive temperatures”.
The message from the German organization was accompanied by a video in which the chief of mission explains the difficult conditions on board after five rescues in less than 26 hours.
SOS Mediterranée has also insistently asked the European authorities to allow the disembarkation of the 387 people aboard the ‘Ocean Viking’.
Many are exhausted and show signs of emotional distress after spending more than 10 hours at sea.”
In addition, some 2,000 people have arrived on the Italian coast since last weekend, most of them by their own means, in precarious boatsmany of whom needed the help of the Italian security forces because they were in danger.
It was the case of a fishing boat drifting with 674 migrants and that he was rescued on Saturday, near Calabria (south), by patrolmen of the Italian coast guard and a unit of the fiscal brigade, who were also found on board. five dead.
These people died of thirst, since drinking water was rationed by the traffickers who organized the trip, five of whom were arrested by order of the Public Ministry of Messina (Sicily, south).
Five immigrants found on a boat off Italy died of thirst
During the trip, water and food resources were rationed in an inhumane way, to the point that the migrants were forced to share a cup of coffee filled with water among 10 people, adding that all those rescued were in terrible conditions because they were also beaten ” with sticks and belts.”
Secondly, five landings with 147 people were recorded on Tuesday morning in Lampedusa, an island in Sicily that has served as a landing port for many immigrants.
With the entry of these people, the reception center on the island, whose capacity does not exceed 350 people, amounts to more than 1,600which led to the mobilization of resources by the Italian Navy to move the migrants to other places.
According to the most recent data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, more than 34,000 people arrived on the Italian coast this year, 36 percent more than in the same period last yearwhen the disembarked migrants totaled 25,500 people.
Source: Observadora
