2023-08-11 23:11:21
The rescue ship “Ocean Viking” of the aid organization SOS Méditerranée has according to its own information rescued 623 people in distress in 15 rescue operations in the past 36 hours off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The NGO announced on Friday that 146 unaccompanied minors were among those rescued.
The “Ocean Viking” responded to a call from the Italian rescue center on Thursday “to help in emergencies at sea southwest of Lampedusa,” SOS Méditerranée said. Many of the survivors come from Sudan, which has been shaken by heavy fighting for months, but also from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin and Bangladesh.
Some of the migrants are to go ashore in Lampedusa in the evening, others will remain on board until August 14 or 15, when the rescue ship reaches the assigned port of Cittàvecchia northwest of Rome.
“No one on board wore a life jacket”
In two other rescue operations, the “Humanity 1” of the civil rescue organization SOS Humanity said it saved a total of 106 people in distress in the central Mediterranean. “When Humanity 1 encountered the dinghy with 86 people on board in international waters off the Libyan coast, water was already entering the boat,” the NGO said on Friday.
“No one on board was wearing a life jacket and the fuel had run out,” it said. According to the NGO, “Humanity 1” then took on 20 other people in distress off the Libyan coast, so there were a total of around 30 minors and some babies among the rescued. The emergencies were reported by the civil reconnaissance aircraft Seabird and the Frontex surveillance aircraft Osprey 3.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s navy rescued 60 people from the Atlantic after their boat got into trouble in the Atlantic off the coastal city of Tarfaya. 67 potential immigrants to Europe were on board, the state news agency MAP reported, citing military sources.
Matthias Rüb, Rome, Hans-Christian Rößler, Madrid Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5 Tim Niendorf Published/Updated: Recommendations: 24 Markus Wehner, Berlin Published/Updated: Recommendations: 76
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world. According to the IOM, at least 1,848 people died trying to reach Europe by ship this year alone.
The Canary Islands are only about 150 kilometers from Morocco’s southern coast. Attempts to enter Europe this way have recently increased significantly. According to Morocco’s authorities, 26,000 attempts at illegal migration were blocked in the first five months of the year.
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