The humanitarian rescue ship “Humanity 1” has saved some 200 people in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, the non-governmental organization (NGO) responsible for the vessel announced this Saturday.
Since last Thursday, and throughout the last night, the boat chartered by SOS Humanidad has detected four boats with migrants on board, all in danger.
Several of those rescued are “extremely weak and injured,” according to the NGO report.
Two people had to be transported ashore due to the seriousness of their state of health.
The rescue operations were coordinated with the help of the Italian authorities.
The humanitarian ship, with 197 migrants on board, was heading to the port of Ortona, in central Italy, more than 1,000 kilometers from its area of operations.
However, the ship has still not managed to enter the port, at a time when the Italian immigration system is undergoing a logistical review due to the overcrowding crisis registered in the reception center on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Italy, along with Greece, Spain or Malta, is one of the “front line” countries in terms of arrivals of irregular immigrants to Europe.
The country is part of the so-called Central Mediterranean route, seen as one of the deadliest, which leaves Tunisia, Algeria and Libya towards Italian territory, in particular the island of Lampedusa, and Malta.
Source: TSF
