The Italian authorities have allowed 403 irregular migrants to disembark from the Ocean Viking vessel, chartered by the SOS Mediterranee non-governmental organization, the NGO said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) The Italian authorities have allowed 403 irregular migrants to disembark from the Ocean Viking vessel, chartered by the SOS Mediterranee non-governmental organization, the NGO said on Tuesday.
The vessel has been seeking a safe port to disembark the migrants it had rescued at sea since late last week.
"breaking In an announcement delivered in 6 languages, the 403 survivors onboard #OceanViking have just been told they will disembark in #Taranto, Italy. Forced to risk their lives to flee across the #Mediterranean, 216 men, 38 women & 149 children will soon finally reach safety," SOS Mediterranee tweeted.
In late July 2019, SOS Mediterranee, together with Medecins Sans Frontieres, renewed its operations on picking up undocumented migrants stranded in the Mediterranean and delivering them to Europe amid a deterioration of the situation in conflict-torn Libya. Ocean Viking sails under the flag of Norway.
In 2018, Italy pursued a hardline policy opposing the landing of migrants rescued at sea on its soil. However, the new government that came to power in September made a U-turn in the previous stance toward migrants and agreed to allow those rescued at sea by humanitarian vessels to disembark.
