Nearly 1,500 migrants have been rescued while trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean. They were waiting until Thursday to be able to disembark, the NGOs said. 659 people were on board the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Geo Barents, 387 on board the SOS Méditerranée Ocean Viking and 438 on board the SeaWatch organization SeaWatch3.

SeaWatch announced in the evening that the Italian authorities had cleared their ship to arrive at the port of Taranto, on the heel of the Italian boot.

“A great relief, but also dismay: two days of travel await us, which means additional suffering for those who have already suffered a lot,” the NGO lamented on Twitter.

38,778 arrivals in Italy by sea since the beginning of the year

Thousands of migrants have arrived in recent weeks on the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily, aboard makeshift boats or often dilapidated fishing boats, or even rescued at sea by NGOs or Italian coastguards.

Since January 1, 38,778 people have arrived in Italy by sea, compared to 27,771 in the same period in 2021 and 12,999 in 2020, according to the Ministry of the Interior.