Women, kids refuse to land from Alan Kurdi - Salvini

(ANSA) - Rome, April 5 - Two children, their mothers and a pregnant woman are refusing to leave the Alan Kurdi migrant rescue ship, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Friday.
    The kids, aged one and six, their mothers and the pregnant woman were given permission to land in Lampedusa for medical reasons by the interior ministry earlier.
    "All that remains is to wish them bon voyage towards Berlin," said Salvini.
    The Alan Kurdi is run by German migrant rescue NGO Sea Eye.
    Sea Eye said later its policy was not to split up families.
    "Italy offered to evacuate two children and their mothers, The accord with the German government was, however, that families would be evacuated. We will not make any family separation active!" It added: "this is an emotional torture and puts the wellbeing of the child at risk".
    A German foreign minister spokesperson, meanwhile, said that "we are in direct contact with our Italian partners" about the ship.
    A European Commission spokesperson said that the EU executive was following the case and had requested the creation of a coordination group.
    Germany also said it was willing to take some of the migrants on board the vessel. Two children, their mothers and a pregnant woman are refusing to leave the ship, Salvini said.
    The kids, aged one and six, their mothers and the pregnant woman were given permission to land on Lampedusa for medical reasons by the interior ministry earlier.
    "All that remains is to wish them bon voyage towards Berlin," said Salvini.
    Coast guard and finance guard motor launches had left Lampedusa Friday to take the four on board. Sources said they would be taken to Lampedusa.
    The Alan Kurdi is currently reported to be zigzagging about 15 nautical miles from Lampedusa, respecting an Italian interior ministry warning Thursday that its course was to be considered "not inoffensive" to Italy, sources said.
    The ship has yet to obtain from the Roma coast guard maritime coordination centre an authorisation to enter Italy's territorial waters.
    At Lampedusa, coast guard motor launches and finance guard vessels are said to be monitoring the situation, local sources said.
    Lampedusa is a stepping stone island for migrants, closer to Libya than to Sicily.
    It has borne the brunt of migrant landings over the past few years.