144 migrants disembarked from the ship "Humanity 1" after docking in an Italian port
The ship "Humanity 1" carries 179 migrants.
AFP
144 of the 179 migrants on board the "Humanity 1", a search and rescue ship belonging to a non-governmental organization, flying the German flag, disembarked in the Italian port of Catania, after the authorities allowed it to be anchored at the eastern quay of the port, the night before last.
The Italian news station, Rai News, reported yesterday that the migrants disembarked from the ship, after the authorities completed an inspection process to identify “vulnerable” people, women and children who would be allowed to disembark.
She added that 35 adult men without health problems were still on board the ship.
Speaking of the ship, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantidosi said: "People who meet the conditions can disembark, and we take care of those who suffer from social and humanitarian problems, without losing sight of the fact that the responsibility lies with the flag state."
He added: “The others must return outside the territorial waters, and the flag state must take care of them.
We will be firm on this principle, without prejudice to the humanitarian obligations that we will never back down from.”
"I'm not the captain, and I don't make the decision, but leaving Catania port without all the migrants on board would be illegal, because they are all refugees," said Petra Kreshuk, a spokeswoman for SOS Humanity, which operates the ship.
She confirmed: "The first people to go down were minors and young children, accompanied by their mothers... Catania was not designated as a safe haven for us."
Meanwhile, three NGO ships wait off the coast of eastern Sicily, hoping to give them a safe haven to disembark rescued migrants in the Mediterranean.
The awaited ships are: "Rise Abaf", with 90 people on board, the Norwegian ship "Ocean Viking, with 234 migrants", and the "Geo Barents", which is flying the Norwegian flag and operated by Doctors Without Borders, and there are currently 572 people on board.
Currently, Geo Barents is waiting about 12 miles off the coast of Catania.
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