European charity seeks safe port for 460 rescued migrants
The SOS Mediterranee charity is urgently seeking a safe port for 460 people packed onto its Ocean Viking rescue ship
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The SOS Mediterranee charity is urgently seeking a port to safely unload 460 people rescued from the sea in 10 different operations last week who are now packed onto its Ocean Viking rescue ship.
A nurse on board, identified only as Rebecca, said the four-person medical team is overwhelmed with serious issues, including skin infections and chronic diseases. Six people have been evacuated by the Italian Coast Guard, including two pregnant women in their ninth month along with a 3-week-old infant girl.
“There is an overwhelming number of medical cases, including exhaustion, dehydration, generalized body pain, untreated infections,” the charity said Wednesday.
The European charity has requested ports of safety in Malta and Italy, but still has not received a response. The migrants were rescued from Thursday to Saturday last week. Laurence Bondard, an SOS Mediterranee spokesperson, stressed that the ship can only be “a temporary shelter. It is extremely difficult for the survivors to stay on deck, under stifling heat.”
“All of these survivors need to be disembarked so they can have further health care away from the heat and sun, which is compromising their health even further,’’ the nurse identified as Rebecca said in a video statement.
Those rescued are mostly from Bangladesh and Egypt, and include 20 women and 80 minors, most of whom are unaccompanied, the charity said.
All but one of their smugglers' boats departed from Libya, and survivors said they had spent up to three days at sea before being rescued, Bondard said.
___
Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.