- Rescue ship Ocean Viking rescued 48 mostly underage migrants from the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast.
- The group was made up of 90% unaccompanied minors, primarily from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
- The migrants are now safe and resting in on-board shelters, but the aid group criticized Italian authorities for directing them to dock at a distant port.
A recent rescue operation in the Mediterranean has saved the lives of 48 mostly underage migrants, who were packed into an overloaded small boat off the Libyan coast. According to SOS Mediterranee, the aid group operating the rescue ship Ocean Viking, the group was made up of 90% unaccompanied minors, primarily from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
The migrants, who are now safe and resting in on-board shelters, were rescued after Ocean Viking received a notification about the boat from a NATO aircraft. However, the aid group has criticized Italian authorities for directing them to dock at the distant port of Ravenna, almost 1,600 kilometers away. This, they argue, would “empty the Mediterranean of search and rescue resources and increase the suffering of rescued people.”
The incident highlights the ongoing issue of migration across the Mediterranean, with around 1,985 people having gone missing or died this year alone, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures.
