Ocean Viking rescues 128 migrants in the Mediterranean | outside

The ship Ocean Viking, chartered by the NGO SOS Méditerranée, rescued 128 migrants during three different operations in the Mediterranean. The France-based humanitarian organization announced this on Saturday. Rescue operations took place off the coast of Libya.

Then the Italian authorities transferred the ship to the port of Ortona in the center of the country. But the NGO criticized this choice, because Ortona would be too far away. “They will have to endure three more days of useless sailing before they finally reach a safe place,” SOS Méditerranée criticized in a press release.

During the night from Friday to Saturday, the ship carried out two rescue operations after distress calls via the alarm phone, which is a number for people in distress at sea.

First, the NGO rescued 33 people from a dilapidated boat, with no one wearing a life jacket. Four hours later, 34 others in a similar situation were rescued. He added that the survivors suffered several serious burns and symptoms of poisoning. The NGO said in a statement that one of the survivors collapsed shortly after arriving at Ocean Viking.

On Saturday afternoon, the crew was able to rescue another group of 61 people who were sailing on a wooden boat in international waters off the coast of Libya.

Since 2016, SOS Méditerranée has rescued more than 39,000 people in the Mediterranean.