The Ocean Viking ship rescued nearly 370 migrants in the Mediterranean

The ship “Ocean Viking” of the NGO SOS Méditerranée rescued 369 migrants in the Mediterranean during the night from Sunday to Monday, in its sixth such operation in a few days, the non-governmental organization said.

The “Ocean Viking” now has on board 572 migrants rescued, specified the SOS Mediterranean.

The last rescue was that of a “Large wooden boat” at “Problems in the Libyan search and rescue region”, a spokesperson for the NGO told AFP

The ship was first located on radar and then seen at night, and the rescue operations lasted more than five hours.

The 369 people include 9 women, 1 baby, two children and 110 unaccompanied minors, for example from Egypt, Bangladesh O Eritrea, according to SOS Méditerranée.

This Sunday afternoon, the “Ocean Viking” arrived help from 71 migrants crammed into a wooden boat, in the Malta search and rescue area.

Its occupants, who fled Libya, they had sailed three days previously and, no water or food on board, were exhausted at the time of the rescue.

On May 1, the “Ocean Viking” landed 236 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in Sicily (Italy).

Later, the ship spent several weeks in dry dock in Naples (Italy) to carry out repairs and, later, cast off from Marseille (France).

Recently, UN urged Libya and European Union (EU) to reform search and rescue operations in Mediterranean, alleging that their current practices deprive migrants of their rights and dignity, when they do not lead to their death.

Since the start of 2021, 866 migrants have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

SOS Méditerranée claims, for its part, to have assisted more than 30,000 people since February 2016, first with the ship “Aquarius” then with “Ocean Viking”.

(With information from AFP)