Status: 10/22/2021 6:14 p.m.
The crew of the German rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 had been waiting for a port to be assigned since the beginning of the week. Now she can bring several hundred rescued people to the port of Pozzallo in Sicily.
The crew of the German rescue ship “Sea-Watch 3” is allowed to dock in Sicily with their more than 400 boat migrants. The Italian authorities had assigned her to the port in Pozzallo, the aid organization said on Twitter.
410 people saved
On Sunday and Monday, the volunteers quickly rescued more than 410 people in the central Mediterranean from distress. Since then, the crew has been waiting to be able to bring the people ashore in a port. In the meantime, the Italian Coast Guard brought several pregnant women and women with serious fuel burns to safety.
People on their flight or in the hope of a better life reach the coasts of Italy and thus the EU on a regular basis. Often they dare the dangerous crossing from the coasts of Libya or Tunisia.
Several arrivals in Calabria
The Ansa news agency reported several arrivals on Thursday and Friday on the coast of the southern Italian region of Calabria. The coast guard moved out to bring the people to safety.
In addition to Sea-Watch, other private organizations regularly operate in the central Mediterranean to prevent migrants from drowning. On Friday afternoon, the organization “Doctors Without Borders” reported that their ship “Geo Barents” had taken 36 people on board in distress. The crew left for their area of operations in the Mediterranean on Monday.
Around 1,400 people have died since the beginning of the year
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 1,400 migrants have died in the dangerous crossing over the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year. According to official figures, there were more than 1200 fatalities last year. However, experts assume a high number of unreported cases.