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.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
