LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – While hundreds of migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean over the last few days, migrants are being warned to take precautions not to sail towards Italy due to expected bad weather in the coming days.
SOS Mediterranee which operates the rescue ship ‘Ocean Viking’ has saved 438 migrants of different nationalities who were in distress in the Mediterranean over the last days. The rescues took place in international waters off the coasts of Libya and Tunisia. Some of the evacuations were coordinated with the Italian coast guards.
In July, the Italian authorities detained the Ocean Viking for 10 days at Civitavecchia, after questioning the vessel’s safety standards, before freleasing it.
Meanwhile, the international NGO Alarm Phone issued a weather alert for the Central Mediterranean. “From today on and for the next days, the weather in the Central Mediterranean is very dangerous for crossings,” alerted Alarm Phone, adding “everybody who is planning to leave Libya or Tunisia g should be aware and consider the weather conditions before departure”.
At least 2,013 people have died or gone missing so far this year attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, according to the United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.
That is significantly higher than its figure for the whole of 2022, which was 1,417.
– Foto: Agenzia Fotogramma –
(ITALPRESS).
