The Ocean Viking is looking for a safe place to dock.
The humanitarian ship of the SOS Méditerranée association, which has carried out ten rescue operations since Wednesday, awaits this Sunday the allocation of "a safe port" to disembark 466 migrants it has rescued.
"Many of them are exhausted by a long and difficult migratory journey, suffering endured in Libya and the trauma of a dangerous crossing in oppressive heat," says SOS Méditerranée.
At dusk, #OceanViking spotted 1 wooden boat in distress in the Maltese search & rescue region, with 17 castaways emotionally & physically exhausted after 2 days at sea.
466 survivors are now on board with rescue teams. @SOSMedFrance & @ifrc.
pic.twitter.com/gvNDUwSImA
— SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) August 27, 2022
The migrants, of 19 nationalities, are mostly from Bangladesh, Egypt, Tunisia and Eritrea.
Among them are 81 minors, the majority of whom are unaccompanied, and a three-week-old infant.
The most dangerous migration route in the world
The situation on the deck of the ambulance ship "is currently calm", further detailed SOS Méditerranée, which is taking care of the survivors on board with the help of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,161 migrants have disappeared in the Mediterranean, including 918 in the central Mediterranean, the most dangerous migratory route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
For the year 2021, this United Nations agency estimated the number of dead and missing at 2,048, including 1,553 for the central Mediterranean alone.
Every year, thousands of people fleeing conflict or poverty try to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, whose coasts are 300 km away from Italy.