The non-governmental organization SOS Méditerranée announced that the Ocean Viking ambulance ship rescued 101 migrants, including 29 women and seven children, from a wooden boat in difficulty off the Libyan coast, in its first rescue operation this year.
The organization, based in Marseille in southeastern France, said in a statement on Friday that “the distressed boat was spotted using binoculars in international waters within the Libyan search and rescue zone.”
The organization’s teams, in cooperation with teams from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided care to the survivors, who are of various nationalities including Somalia, Syria, Eritrea and Egypt.
The Ocean Viking is currently heading to Ravenna, the port of disembarkation designated for it by the Italian authorities.
The organization explained that “Ravenna was chosen as a disembarkation point, despite the bad weather conditions and rough seas, which mean that it is four days away by sea.
We therefore call on the Italian authorities to identify a closer port.” “We stress that under international maritime law, survivors must be disembarked within a reasonable time.
However, the policy of distant ports has deliberately delayed rescue operations, putting people’s lives at risk,” the organization added.
According to figures from the International Organization for Migration, 31 people have disappeared or died in the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of the year, while trying to reach Europe.
