Italian government allowed the rescue boat ‘Sea-Watch 3’ to dock in Sicily and disembark 47 migrants who were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was previously barred from entering Italian waters for almost two weeks.
Following legal threats against the crew by Italian minister Matteo Salvini, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte eventually said on Wednesday they could all disembark, as six countries – France, Germany, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Luxembourg – agreed to take the migrants in, BBC reported.
On Thursday, the migrants and 4 British crew cheered and hugged as they sailed into the Sicilian port of Catania.
The ‘Sea-Watch 3’ ship patrols the Libyan 24-nautical-mile zone and actively searches for boats in distress. The ship rescued the migrants, including 15 unaccompanied children, on 19 January after they were spotted off Libya in a sinking dinghy in heavy weather.
According to a Sea-Watch spokeswoman, the 15 boys would go to a reception centre in Catania, while the men would be taken to Messina before being sent to other countries.
Approximately 2,275 people died or went missing in attempts to cross the Mediterranean in 2018, which means about six lives were lost on average every day, according to a new report by UN Refugee Agency.