Migrants disembarked from Ocean Viking, 'nightmare journey'

(ANSA) - Taranto, January 29 - A total of 403 migrants disembarked from the Ocean Viking in Taranto on Wednesday and rescue workers said the migrants had faced a "nightmare journey".
    The Taranto prefecture said there were 12 pregnant women, 132 unaccompanied minors (some between 11-13 years old), and 20 families aboard the NGO ship run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders.
    The migrants are from Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali and Somalia.
    They were rescued in recent days in the Mediterranean, in five nighttime operations made difficult by bad weather at sea.
    Many of the migrants were crowded into small boats full of water that nearly overturned numerous times.
    Others were suffering from hypothermia and seasickness, covered with fuel, travelling aboard an overcrowded rubber boat.
    There were some smiling faces among those who disembarked, but the faces were also marked by fatigue and tension.
    Sources said health workers found two cases of tuberculosis and some cases of fuel burns due to contact with the fuel on board and seawater, but said the overall condition of the survivors was "rather good".
    The minors, who made up more than one-third of those disembarked, are headed for educational communities in Taranto and the province.
    The adults will be transferred by bus to the migrant hotspot in Taranto, where they will remain for 48 to 72 hours for identification procedures before being taken to other centres.
    Rescue workers said the rescues "were difficult, with rough seas, at night".
    "There were some scenes of panic, but SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders did an extraordinary job," rescue workers said.
    "The crew is also tired; they rescued people at sea whose lives were at risk. These migrants deserve a bit of peace and rest. Now they can start a new life in Italy and abroad," they said.