Despite low temperatures, rescue operations in the Mediterranean have been continuous during the past few days. The Spanish ship “Open Arms” registered its fifth rescue operation in less than 72 hours, bringing the total number of surviving migrants above this ship up to 360 including children and minors who were on the verge of drowning as they tried to cross the Mediterranean on the back of worn out wooden boats.
As reported in infomigrants.net, the Spanish NGO sent a tweet on Twitter that reads as follows: “After the fifth rescue operation last night, and the execution of two other rescues, the total number of people on board is 363. We need a safe port to get off at as soon as possible.”
The ship had already rescued 282 migrants in four different rescue operations between the dawn of Tuesday, January 28 and Thursday.
Oscar Campus, the founder of the Spanish “Open Arms” Organization, explained that the ship’s crew executed the final rescue operation upon receiving a mayday call, concerning a group of immigrants who were on the verge of drowning, from “Alarm Phone” organization.
The “Ocean Viking” ship which is operated by “SOS Mediterranean” in cooperation with “Doctors Without Borders”, had landed 403 migrants in Taranto port south of Italy, after having saved them across the Libyan borders last weekend.
During the past week alone, humanitarian ships have rescued more than 800 migrants who traveled from the Libyan coast towards the European continent.
Humanitarian organizations vehemently reject the return of migrants to Libya and criticize the European Union's policy of funding the Libyan coast guard.
Migrants suffer from deteriorating living conditions and daily violations in Libyan detention centers, and human traffickers often take advantage of this situation.
As a result, migrants tend to fall victims to the exploitation of smugglers and put their lives at risk while crossing the average.
#Libya # Mediterranean #Migrants #OpenArms
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