The Ocean Viking, the humanitarian ship of SOS Méditerranée, launched an appeal on Tuesday July 5 to be able to “
disembark urgently in a safe port
” 306 survivors, some having been on board for 11 days “
under extreme heat
”.
Since June 24, the ambulance ship chartered by the NGO which operates in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has carried out eight rescue operations off Libya and Malta , says SOS Méditerranée in a press release.
53 women and 87 unaccompanied minors
Among the migrants are 53 women, four of them pregnant, and 87 unaccompanied minors.
In May, during its last mission in the central Mediterranean, the most dangerous migratory route in the world, the Ocean Viking rescued some 300 people, including a three-month-old baby and six pregnant women, but had to wait around ten days before being designated a safe port in Sicily to disembark them.
Read alsoMediterranean: a sailboat saves 75 migrants later recovered by the Ocean Viking
Since the beginning of the year, 805 migrants have disappeared in the central Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The UN agency estimates the number of dead and missing there at 1,553 in 2021. Every year, thousands of people fleeing conflict or poverty try to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, whose coasts are some distance away. 300 km from Italy.
