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07 April 2020 The ship of the NGO Alan Kurdi, rescued 150 migrants from two boats off the Libyan coast. This was reported by InfoMigrants adding that Alan Kurdi is the only private rescue ship that currently operates in the area. The emergence of the global coronavirus could make it difficult for the ship to find a port for landing.

At the moment the ship of the German NGO is under Lampedusa. The rescue took place yesterday morning in two different operations, when 68 people were welcomed on board, and in the evening, when Alan Kurdi went to a distressed boat with 82 people on board. The latter alarm, explains the NGO, "had been collected before us several hours earlier by the Italian ship Asso Ventinove, which has not started any rescue, although it is a wooden boat much more suitable than ours for the 82 people, including a pregnant woman. They told us they were there for the safety of an oil rig, and they refused to take over the coordination of the relief effort. "

The NGO explains in a note that both Italy and Malta have pointed out to Germany, of which the ship is flying the flag, will not allow migrants to disembark due to the epidemic situation in progress in the two countries. Berlin, in turn, asked the ship "not to undertake any voyages, in light of the current picture", but Alan Kurdi "has been operating" in the Mediterranean "for seven days already". The ship, as reported by the coordinates indicated by Sergio Scandura, of Radio Radicale, is now just under "25 SSE miles" from Lampedusa, "awaiting the assignment of a Place of Safety for landing". Alan Kurdi, concludes the NGO note, asked the German government to intervene to carry out the evacuation of migrants, as happened with the "200,000 German citizens repatriated in recent days" due to the coronavirus epidemic. "Sending a plane for 150 people - explains the NGO - is humanly possible. About 150 German cities of the Safe Ports Coalition are ready to welcome them"

According to what the NGO said on Twitter, the Libyans tried to stop the rescue operations by shooting in the air. Migrants are now "safe" on board the ship, the only NGO in the Libyan Sar. As for any coronavirus infections, "German ships - had assured Jan Ribbeck, mission manager, when the ship sailed from Spain several days ago - have the highest safety conditions. Furthermore, we have sufficient protective devices for our crew".

Alan Kurdi was alerted to emergency calls by the Alarm Phone organization that connects migrants in distress at sea with potential rescuers, as InfoMigrants points out. On Monday morning the crew rescued 68 migrants for the first time from a wooden boat. In the afternoon they rescued 82 people from another wooden boat. On Twitter, the organization that runs Alan Kurdi, the German non-governmental organization (NGO) Sea-Eye, said that a pregnant woman was among the people who were saved. "The supply ship" Asso Ventinove ", says the NGO," has denied for hours to take people on board ".