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"Ocean Viking" (archive image)
Photo:
Anthony Jean / SOS Mediterranee / DPA
The rescue ship "Ocean Viking" of the European organization SOS Méditerranée rescued more than 200 people from overcrowded refugee boats in the Mediterranean within a few days.
Among the 203 migrants rescued since Thursday are 67 minors, the organization said on Sunday.
The people were therefore included in four different rescue operations.
According to SOS Méditerranée, they come from Egypt, Gambia, Libya, South Sudan, Syria and Tunisia.
In a rescue operation in the waters around Malta on Sunday, 71 migrants were taken in alone.
They found themselves in an overloaded wooden boat that had started three days earlier from the Libyan coast.
Four people had to be rescued from the boat on stretcher because of their weakened condition.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 886 migrants have died in the dangerous crossing over the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.
According to official figures, more than 1200 people had lost their lives in the past year when they tried to reach Europe via the Mediterranean.
However, experts assume a high number of unreported cases.
SOS Méditerranée claims to have saved more than 30,000 people since February 2016.
kha / AFP
