The Ocean Viking, SOS Mediterranean's rescue ship at sea, once again came to the aid of a boat overloaded with migrants on Wednesday off Libya, bringing the number of people aboard the rescue ship to 245 , according to the NGO.
On Wednesday, the ship chartered by SOS Méditerranée, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), rescued 106 people, "who were on a wooden boat in distress", "Overloaded," said the NGO.
More than 1,500 since early 2021
Among them, 14 women, 46 minors including 29 unaccompanied, seven are under five years old and three are infants. The Ocean Viking had already rescued on Monday and Tuesday, off the Libyan coast, 139 people during two separate rescues. The humanitarian ship chartered by SOS Méditerranée, headquartered in the south of France, in Marseille, had first rescued 45 people aboard a wooden boat overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
Then, during a second rescue, 94 people were recovered during the day of Tuesday on an extremely overloaded inflatable boat, once again in international waters.
After each rescue, the NGOs must wait, stranded at sea sometimes for several days, for the allocation of a "safe port" by the maritime authorities to disembark.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 22,000 people have died in the Mediterranean since 2014 while trying to reach Europe, including more than 1,500 since the start of 2021.
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Libya
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Mediterranean
Migrants
World