Geo Barents rescues 350 migrants in central Med

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 2 - The civil rescue ship Geo Barents on Tuesday rescued 36 migrants and refugees from a small fibreglass boat in distress in the central Mediterranean, taking to around 350 the number of rescued people on board.
    On Sunday evening the vessel operated by non-governmental organization Doctors without Borders (Msf) rescued around 300 migrants and refugees including women and children from an overcrowded wooden boat in the Maltese search and rescue area.
    The boat had departed from Libya.
    Following the rescues, the Geo Barents was instructed to disembark in the Ligurian port city of La Spezia in northern Italy, around three days' sailing away.
    Also on Tuesday, the Ocean Viking operated by Sos Mediterranee carrying 168 rescued migrants and refugees from Syria and Egypt docked in the Lazio port of Civitavecchia after over 940 km of navigation.
    "The assignment of a distant port is an additional burden on the already fragile condition of the shipwrecked people and leaves the Mediterranean devoid of rescue capacity," said Sos Mediterranee. (ANSA).