- A German rescue ship with 179 migrants on board is allowed to head for a port in Sicily after waiting for days.
- The ship called “Humanity 1” had been waiting for a safe harbor for almost two weeks.
- Only underage migrants and pregnant women, women with small children or refugees suffering from fever are allowed to go ashore.
The rescue ship of the German organization SOS “Humanity 1” is on its way to Catania, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday evening. The ship may anchor there until the migrants on board have been medically examined.
Underage migrants as well as pregnant women, women with small children or refugees suffering from fever are allowed to go ashore, Tajani said. But all people who do not meet these criteria would have to leave Italy’s territorial waters by ship.
More rescue ships are still waiting
Several rescue ships with a total of more than a thousand migrants on board are currently waiting in the Mediterranean to be assigned a safe port. According to their own statements, the sea rescuers of “Humanity 1” rescued migrants in three missions between October 22 and 24 who were in distress in the Mediterranean Sea.
Among them are more than a hundred unaccompanied minors. The federal government asked Italy on Thursday for “quick help” for the rescued refugees.
Italy’s new government wants to block immigration
After taking office, Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that she would block the arrival of immigrants from Africa. Her interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said he could prevent the aid organizations’ ships and the migrants on board from coming to Italy.