Rescue Ship Saves 438 Migrants in Mediterranean

A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
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Rescue Ship Saves 438 Migrants in Mediterranean

A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved 438 migrants in distress in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organization that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the NGO said that on Thursday it had "rescued 272 people" of 23 different nationalities from three boats in the central Mediterranean, the most perilous maritime crossing in the world for the migrants.

Those rescued included "32 unaccompanied minors, nine babies and five people with disabilities", said the organization, which is based in Marseille, on the French Mediterranean, AFP reported.

Later Friday, it said it had rescued another 166 people when it "went to the aid of a number of boats in distress".

Those onboard were evacuated "in coordination with the Italian coast guards in the search and rescue area between Tunisia and Lampedusa".

The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, located just 90 miles (145 kilometres) from Tunisia, is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to make the treacherous sea journey to Europe from North Africa.

In total, "438 rescued people are currently on board", SOS Mediteranee said.

The Ocean Viking was "heading towards Genoa" in northern Italy because the Italian authorities had ordered them to go to the distant port to disembark the migrants, the group added.

At least 2,013 people have died or gone missing so far this year attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, according to the United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.

That is significantly higher than its figure for the whole of 2022, which was 1,417.

In June, one sinking alone in the western Mediterranean cost the lives of at least 82 people, one of the deadliest incidents involving migrants in the area.

In July, the Italian authorities detained the Ocean Viking for 10 days at Civitavecchia, after questioning the vessel's safety standards, before finally releasing it.



Bodies of Four Migrants Found as Boat Sinks off Greek Island of Lesbos

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
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Bodies of Four Migrants Found as Boat Sinks off Greek Island of Lesbos

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture

The bodies of four migrants - one boy, one girl and two women - have been recovered from a sinking boat off the Greek island of Lesbos while another 23 migrants were rescued, Greece's coastguard said on Thursday.

The boat was detected by a patrolling coastguard vessel at about 2 a.m. (2300 GMT). A search and rescue operation was still ongoing, a coastguard official said. It was not immediately clear how many people may have been on the boat, Reuters reported.

Greece, in the southeast corner of the European Union, has long been a favored gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015 nearly 1 million people landed on its islands.

Last year, about 54,000 migrants reached Greece, the second largest number in southern Europe behind Italy. The vast majority of them arrived by sea, according to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR.