The German sailing ship "Nadir" of the Hamburg association ResQship rescued 34 people from distress in the Mediterranean and brought them ashore after a long wait.
Late on Tuesday evening, the ship was allowed to dock in the port of Lampedusa, as Gerhard Trabert, the aid organization's doctor, told the German press agency.
All 34 migrants, including 15 small children and one heavily pregnant woman, were cared for on the Italian island.
Rome - A four-year-old child developed a fever on board, the doctor reported.
The "Nadir" had rescued the people from two overcrowded fiberglass boats on Sunday night. The 19-meter-long sailboat is suitable for observation missions, but after initial aid for the rescued is actually dependent on the help of other ships. In the evening, the “Nadir” made it into a harbor herself; Lampedusa was closest to the salvage site.
Previously, the crew and those rescued had to endure more than 40 hours at sea.
ResQship complained that initially neither Malta - in whose search and rescue zone (SAR) the two boats had drifted - nor Italy or Germany looked for help.
The situation on the boat was critical, the pregnant woman had circulatory problems and kept losing consciousness, the rescuers said.
Bad weather forecasts with wind and high waves also caused concern.
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Meanwhile, the “Sea-Watch 3” of the Berlin aid organization with more than 400 people on board was still waiting to be assigned to a safe harbor.
"We have many children and young people and people with fuel burns on board," tweeted Sea-Watch after seven missions had been completed on the weekend and Monday.
The Coast Guard then brought three injured women ashore on Tuesday.
dpa