The German aid organization Resqship has rescued another 47 migrants in distress from the Mediterranean Sea. The crew of the motor sailing ship “Nadir” took people on Friday from an overcrowded steel boat that was about to capsize and brought them to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the non-governmental organization said. According to the information, 14 women were among the inmates, including a pregnant woman, a small child and several minors.
The night before, the crew had provided emergency aid to 54 people on a wooden boat that was unable to maneuver, it said. After the “Nadir” accompanied the boat for hours, the people were rescued by the Italian coast guard and taken to Lampedusa.
The Hamburg association’s motor glider is actually not a rescue ship that can transport many people. During its missions, the “Nadir” usually provides first aid before larger rescue ships take on migrants and refugees in distress. The rescue on Friday was the crew’s third mission in just a few days. Only on Wednesday did the Italian authorities instruct the “Nadir” to take 41 people on board from a boat in distress and bring them to Lampedusa.
Migrants came from Guinea and Ivory Coast
Resqship spokeswoman Cat Spangehl said of the last rescue: “The boat was unstable, completely overloaded and was very low in the water.” Due to the waves there was an “acute risk of capsizing”. There was already water inside. “People became more and more panicky. Despite the critical situation, we had to wait a long time for permission from the Italian authorities to take people on board.” The people started from the Tunisian city of Sfax on Thursday evening. They come mainly from Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
For months, many people have been trying to reach southern Italy from North Africa via the dangerous Mediterranean route. Recently, fatal accidents have occurred time and again. By Friday, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome had counted almost 41,000 boat migrants who reached the Italian coasts – according to the information, more than four times as many people as in the same period in 2022.
