Humanitarian boats from three NGOs on Monday rescued 139 migrants off the coasts of Libya and Malta, according to the organization SOS Mediterranée.
“Sixty-four women, men and children were rescued from an endangered wooden ship in Malta’s search and rescue region,” said SOS Mediterranée, a Malta-based European maritime search and rescue NGO based in Marseille, southeastern France. .
Prior to the arrival of SOS Mediterranée’s humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, the sailboat Astral from the Spanish NGO Open Arms remained close to the ship to protect it.
The France-based organization said some of the survivors “showed signs of exhaustion after being at sea for more than 16 hours”.
At dawn, another NGO, the German Resqship, rescued 75 migrants off the coast of Libya and then delivered them to Ocean Viking.
A Libyan coast guard boat appeared as the Resqship crew made first responders. “We categorically reject the request to hand over the survivors to the Libyans, as it is against international, European and German law,” the organization said in a statement.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Central Mediterranean is the world’s most dangerous migration route. This UN agency estimates the death toll in 2021 as 1,553.
source: Noticias
