The Sea-Watch 3 search-and-rescue ship carrying 47 asylum seekers docked in the port of Catania on Thursday. The asylum seekers, including 15 unaccompanied minors, embraced each other and members of the crew of the ship operated by a German NGO and flying the Dutch flag with their long ordeal set to come to an end. The government had refused to let the migrants rescued in the Mediterranean almost two weeks ago to land on Italian soil, as part of a policy of refusing access to Italy's ports to NGO-run search-and-rescue ships.
The deadlock was broken after six other EU countries agreed to each take a share of the asylum seekers.
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