Status: 10/25/2022 10:26 am
The sea rescue ship “Humanity 1” rescued 135 people from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Together with 45 previously rescued, there are now 180 survivors on board, said the organization “SOS Humanity”.
The German sea rescue ship “Humanity 1” has brought 135 migrants on board in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. The Berlin organization “SOS Humanity” announced that the people had been picked up in two operations. First, 113 people – including a baby – were rescued from an overcrowded inflatable boat. In the evening, 22 migrants were also taken from a rubber dinghy during another action. After 45 people were rescued during an operation on Saturday, according to “SOS Humanity” there are now 180 migrants and refugees on board.
The emergency call organization Alarm Phone Information reported on an overcrowded dinghy in distress. No one on the boat was wearing a life jacket, SOS Humanity said.
Dangerous route from North Africa
Again and again people try to reach Malta or southern Italy from North Africa via the dangerous route in the central Mediterranean; they hope for a better life in the European Union. Some make it to the shore in their boats, others are picked up by the coast guards of the two EU countries, and some are rescued by civilian sea rescuers.
As of Monday, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome counted 78,440 boat migrants who arrived in Italy this year – in the same period of 2021 there were 52,667. However, many people who board a boat in North Africa do not survive the crossing. According to the United Nations, at least 1,269 migrants died or went missing on the central Mediterranean route this year alone.