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NGO sea-rescue mission exposes reality of EU values
The Ocean Viking rescued more than 570 people during a single mission (Photo: Nikolaj Nielsen)
Augusta, Sicily, Today, 07:01
The crew of the Ocean Viking search-and-rescue vessel are currently in a 10-day quarantine, anchored in the Sicilian port of Augusta.
The Norwegian-flagged ship disembarked 572 people over the weekend, who were then transferred onto the GNV Azzurra, an out-of-service commercial passenger ferry, anchored nearby.
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July 9, 2021 Share
Italy on Thursday agreed to allow the disembarking of 572 rescued migrants following a charity ship’s desperate plea that food was running short and tensions rising on the crowded Ocean Viking.
Hours earlier, Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator of SOS Mediterranee, launched an urgent appeal from the Ocean Viking, which was then located between Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily. She said five requests to maritime authorities to assign a port of safety had gone unmet.
But after nightfall, the organization tweeted with “immense relief” that Italy had given permission to the Ocean Viking to disembark passengers at the port of Augusta, Sicily.
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Sputnik International
Published Thursday, July 8, 2021 4:13PM EDT ROME (AP) - A charity running a rescue ship with 572 migrants aboard in the central Mediterranean pleaded Thursday for permission to dock at some European port, saying food was running short and tensions rising on the crowded vessel. Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator of SOS Mediterranee, launched an urgent appeal from the Ocean Viking, that s between Malta and the southern Italian islet of Lampedusa, south of Sicily. She said five requests to maritime authorities to assign a port of safety have gone unmet. Among those aboard the Ocean Viking are 369 migrants rescued on July 4 from a boat that the group said was in danger of capsizing in the Mediterranean.