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ITALY-MIGRANTS-POLITICS
Italy to allow 180 migrants to leave ship: charity
ABOARD THE OCEAN VIKING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, July 5, 2020 (BSS/AFP)
– Italy has authorised charity vessel Ocean Viking to disembark 180
migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in Sicily, ship operator SOS
Mediterranee said on Sunday.
“We have received instructions from the Italian maritime
authorities to disembark those on board in Porto Empedocle,” a
spokesman for the charity told AFP, which has a correspondent on
board.
The Ocean Viking is now heading for the port where it expects to
arrive by Monday.
Italy said on Saturday that medics were testing the migrants before
they would be transferred to a quarantine vessel in Sicily.
They have been on the Ocean Viking for over a week, with fights and
suicide attempts on board prompting the charity to declare a state of
emergency on Friday.
After the coronavirus tests, the migrants are expected to be
transferred to the Moby Zaza quarantine ship in Porto Empedocle.
The Ocean Viking, which has been in limbo in the Mediterranean
south of Sicily, has been waiting for permission from Italy or Malta
to offload the migrants at a safe port.
Tensions have risen in the past week, as witnessed by an AFP
reporter, with the migrants increasingly desperate to reach land.
Others have become distraught at not being able to telephone their
families to let them know they were safe.
The migrants, who include Pakistanis, North Africans, Eritreans,
Nigerians and others, were picked up after fleeing Libya in four
separate rescues by the Ocean Viking on June 25 and 30.
The migrants include 25 children, most of whom are unaccompanied by
adults, and two women, one of whom is pregnant.
More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last
year with more than 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the
International Organization for Migration.
The arrival of summer and more favourable conditions at sea may
lead to an increase of attempts to cross the Mediterranean with the
hope of arriving in Europe.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2223hrs