After Italy’s silence, rescue ship calls on France to dock

A humanitarian group has appealed to France for a port that could accommodate 234 rescued migrants after Italy’s new far-right government refused to provide a safe harbor for multiple private rescue ships.

European aid group SOS Mediteranee said conditions on the ships it operated had reached “critical limits”.

The Viking of the Seas completed the first rescue of its current mission 18 days ago; Italian authorities have ignored repeated requests for port assignments.

“We are facing very serious consequences, including the risk of loss of life,” said Xavier Lauth, the group’s director of operations.

“The physical and mental health of survivors and crew has been exhausted due to the maritime blockade of more than two weeks. This is a humanitarian emergency and an immediate response is required.”

Italy is at an impasse with some charities operating rescue boats in the central Mediterranean.

Authorities directed two ships – Geo Barents and SOS Humanity – to a port in Sicily over the weekend to identify migrants they consider “vulnerable”.

Passengers who are not considered vulnerable will not be allowed to disembark.

The captains of both ships have since refused orders to return to international waters, with nearly 250 migrants between them. Humanitarian groups, legal experts and human rights activists say the selection process is illegal.

Italian authorities began another such triage on Tuesday, but the crew insisted that all 213 passengers were vulnerable and entitled Be protected when rescued at sea.

“We continue to push to get everyone off the bus,” Mr Gill told reporters in Catania, Sicily.

“We are well aware of all the violence they have suffered in Libya and on the ship for a week. They need psychological services.”

A German humanitarian group said its ship docked in southern Italy early on Tuesday with the disembarkation of all 89 rescued people on board, ending a migrant rescue saga.

Germany-based Mission Lifeline posted a video on social media of Rise Above docking in Reggio Calabria and said the “adventure for the 89 passengers and nine crew on board appears to be over”.

The group has repeatedly asked Italy to designate a safe port for the 80-foot vessel after three rescues of the 80-foot vessel on Nov. 3, saying the ship was rescued over the weekend without consent due to rough seas. into Italian waters. Six of the 95 people initially rescued on board were evacuated at sea for medical reasons.

Mission Lifeline spokeswoman Hermine Poschmann said she did not know why Rise Above was allowed to disembark all remaining passengers.

Citing Italian news reports, the group said the Italian government had identified Rise Above as a “maritime distress incident”.

But Ms Poschmann said the group had never declared a state of emergency or a SOS day.

Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, drafted the measures, saying two aid groups – SOS Humanity and SOS Mediteranee – did not properly coordinate their relief efforts and violated procedures to shut down Italy. The port lays the groundwork for humanitarian relief ships.

The order does not include Mission Lifeline, although Ms Poschmann said the Rise Above follows the same search and rescue procedures as other ships.

SOS Humanity, also based in Germany, confirmed on Tuesday that 35 people who remained on the ship after a review process had submitted expedited political asylum applications through a court in Catania. It said the condition of those on Human One was getting worse every day, with some refusing to eat meals and becoming more miserable.

Médecins Sans Frontières, which operates the ship, said two Syrian men desperately jumped into the sea from one of the boats, the Geo Berents, on Monday before a third man entered to try to rescue them. One of the men was taken from the boat by ambulance on Tuesday after developing a fever.

The charity said the man, identified only as Ahmed, fled Syria a year ago for Libya, where he suffered abuse and violence in a Libyan prison and was caught by Libyan coast guards on his first attempt to cross the border The team intercepted and landed there.

“He told us that since then he has suffered severe pain in his back as a result of the violence he suffered,” said Maurizio Debanne, a spokesman for the aid group.