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Doctors Without Borders' Geo Barents in the Mediterranean
Photo: Carmelo Imbesi / picture alliance / dpa / ANSA / ZUMA Press
In the central Mediterranean, the aid organization Doctors Without Borders says it has rescued dozens of people who were traveling on an unseaworthy boat.
The rescuers tweeted that 71 people had been taken from the inflatable boat and taken to the ship "Geo Barents".
According to the information, 22 people are missing, a woman died in the rescue.
The group also included children.
Many rescued people are traumatized and are still in shock, the helpers wrote.
Among other things, two mothers lost their children in the floods, another young woman lost her brother.
Refugees were evacuated from the ship that night, including a seriously injured toddler, it said.
It no longer showed any vital signs.
The child and mother were flown to Malta for treatment.
Crossing in unfit boats
The "Geo Barents" had rescued the people off the Libyan coast from their boat, as satellite data showed.
Many people try to reach Malta or Italy from North Africa in boats that are sometimes poorly equipped or even unseaworthy, because they hope for a better life in the EU.
According to the United Nations, 850 people have already officially died during the dangerous crossings this year.
The number of unreported cases could be significantly higher.
Meanwhile, after a long wait, two German sea rescue ships were allowed to approach Italian ports with people who had fled on board.
The "Sea-Watch 4" was given permission to moor in Porto Empedocle in Sicily with a little more than 300 rescued people seeking protection.
"Finally a safe haven," tweeted the Berlin organization.
The "Louise Michel" brought 59 migrants ashore on Lampedusa at about the same time.
mrc/dpa