370 Rescued Migrants Get Go-ahead To Disembark In Sicily: NGO

Marseille, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2021 ) :Over 370 migrants will be allowed to disembark on the Italian island of Sicily, after being rescued off the Libyan coast by the Ocean Viking humanitarian vessel ,the group which runs the boat said Sunday.

"Big relief on board tonight as the #OceanViking was assigned a Place of Safety in Augusta, Sicily," the SOS Mediterranee group tweeted. "We are humbled by the resilience of the people we rescued this week, and deeply touched by the stories they shared with us," added the humanitarian group which added that the rescue ship would arrive in Sicily on Monday morning.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Italian coastguard.

SOS Mediterranee said earlier that the Ocean Viking had picked up 374 migrants, most from sub-Saharan Africa, in three separate rescues over recent days.

The group includes 165 children, most of them unaccompanied.

The NGO's calls to Libyan officials went unheeded and "we then asked Maltese and Italian maritime authorities for help", the European NGO said Saturday, warning that the weather at sea was worsening.

The Italian coastguard on Saturday evacuated one heavily pregnant woman from the Ocean Viking.

Ocean Viking is currently the sole rescue ship run by an NGO in the area, according to SOS Mediterranee's head, Sophie Beau.

Most migrants leave from Libya and Tunisia attempting a hazardous Mediterranean crossing to try and enter Europe through Italy.

More than 1,200 died last year while trying to cross the Mediterranean.