After hours, the rescue operation can be implemented by helicopter.
Thirty-two refugees had to wait hours for rescue on the island of Lampione, near Lampedusa, after their boat that left Tunisia ran aground on Sunday. After several attempts to rescue the migrants using Coast Guard patrol boats, the rescue operation on Monday was carried out using a Coast Guard helicopter due to particularly adverse weather and sea conditions.
The helicopter, which flew several times from Lampione to Lampedusa, was operating in particularly difficult weather conditions, with wind gusts of up to 50 knots, the Coast Guard said. A total of 32 migrants, including a child, were rescued and taken safely to the island of Lampedusa.
Rescue ship “Ocena Viking” expected in Salerno
The rescue ship “Ocean Viking” from the French aid organization SOS Méditerranée is expected in the southern Italian city of Salerno, which took 92 people in distress on board during a mission in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya on Saturday. The refugees were rescued from an inflatable boat “overwhelmed and deflated”, SOS Méditerranée said on Twitter. Among those rescued are nine women and about 40 unaccompanied minors.
Italian authorities had instructed the “Ocean Viking” to head to the port of Salerno in southern Italy, some 830 kilometers away. With weather forecasts predicting deteriorating conditions, SOS Méditerranée fears that “the rather long crossing will affect the fragile condition of the rescued”.
Allegations against the Italian government
Humanitarian organizations active in the Mediterranean accuse the right-wing Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni of obstructing sea rescues. According to a government decree, rescue ships must call at the designated port immediately. Furthermore, maritime rescuers criticize that it is now common practice to assign ships to distant ports.
(APA)