The crew rescued nearly 60 men, women and unaccompanied minors in international waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday evening, the organization SOS Méditerranée tweeted Wednesday morning. The people therefore sat on an overcrowded wooden boat. After previous rescues, a total of about 200 have been rescued on the “Ocean Viking”.
A ship belonging to the German aid agency SOS Humanity is currently in the Mediterranean Sea with 180 people on board (as of Tuesday) who found themselves in distress at sea en route from the coasts of North Africa to the EU. After rescues, the organizations are asking authorities in EU countries Italy and Malta for a safe harbor for people to land there. After a long wait, Italy usually assigns a port.
The new government of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to limit the arrival of migrants and only allow people who are entitled to asylum. According to the head of the Fratelli d’Italia party, this should already be checked in the North African states to prevent migrants from making the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean. For civilian sea rescuers, this attitude could mean that it will be difficult or impossible for them to dock in Italy in the future.
(SDA)