Around 112 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya have arrived in Tuscany, Central Italy, as the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, operated by SOS Méditerranée, docked in the port of Livorno on Wednesday morning, according to local media reports.
The NGO stated that most of the rescued migrants came from Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia, and Syria. They were saved in two separate operations over the weekend.
Crew members first assisted a fiberglass boat on Saturday and Sunday night, rescuing 25 people, including three pregnant women. On Sunday morning, another 87 migrants were rescued from a wooden boat in coordination with Italian police.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 129 people attempting to reach Europe have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year.
While illegal migration into Europe declined by 38% overall last year, Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, reported an 18% increase in crossings on the Atlantic route between West Africa and the Canary Islands. The agency attributes this rise in part to an increasing number of departures from Mauritania, which has become a major migration hub.
Since record-keeping began in 2014, the IOM has documented at least 5,000 migrant deaths or disappearances on the Atlantic route. However, the NGO Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) claims the real toll is far higher, estimating that over 10,000 migrants died or went missing in 2024 alone based on rescue statistics and reports from migrant families.
