The Ocean Viking, a migrant rescue ship, has saved 48 migrants, most of them minors, from a distressed rubber dinghy off the coast of Libya.
According to SOS Méditerranée, the ship was assigned to disembark the migrants at the Italian port of Ravenna.
On Tuesday, November 26, the Ocean Viking crew rescued the 48 migrants, including 44 minors, from an overcrowded dinghy in Libya’s search and rescue zone. SOS Méditerranée, the humanitarian organization operating the vessel, reported that the boat was made up of 90% unaccompanied minors.
The rescue operation was prompted by a call from a NATO surveillance plane, which alerted the Ocean Viking crew to the distress situation. Most of the rescued individuals came from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, located in northwestern Africa.
As the mission neared completion, a Libyan coast guard vessel approached at high speed, performing “dangerous maneuvers” near the rescue scene. Despite these risky actions, the SOS Méditerranée crew managed to safely bring all survivors aboard the Ocean Viking.
According to the UN refugee agency, in June alone, an average of three migrants per day died or went missing in the Central Mediterranean.
