A vessel belonging to the Mediterranean Saving Humanity group rescued 77 illegal immigrants who had sailed from Libya toward Europe.
According to the Italian Aki Agency, the immigrants sailed three days ago on an overcrowded boat that was about to sink in the Maltese search and rescue area, 36 miles from the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
The Italian agency said that the rescue operation was carried out in cooperation with the non-governmental project “Alarm Phone”, after it was reported that the boat was facing difficulties in the rescue operations, as the ship sailed with the immigrants after rescuing them to the island of Lampedusa.
On Friday, two non-governmental organizations accused the Libyan Coast Guard of endangering human lives, after an incident in which the Libyan guards intercepted rescue ships at sea, according to the organizations.
SOS Humanity said that the crews of its ship “Humanity 1” rescued more than 60 immigrants, including women and children, on Wednesday evening, saying they were on board an overcrowded and unseaworthy rubber boat, adding that they had left Libya and spent a full day at sea.
The ship “Humanity 1” also carried out another rescue operation for 47 people, including minors, in an operation that the organization described as “unusual and threatening to our crew and the people rescued, as an overcrowded and unseaworthy boat came toward the ship at high speed.”
It accused the Libyan Coast Guard of carrying out an “illegal” interception of the immigrants, adding: “Our crew could have taken these people to a safe place... but the Libyan guards have once again put human lives at risk and violated international maritime law with this interception.”
