(Marseille) The Ocean Viking, an ambulance ship chartered by SOS Méditerranée, rescued 92 migrants in distress on Saturday afternoon aboard an “overloaded and deflated” inflatable boat off the coast of Libya, the humanitarian NGO announced. based in Marseilles.
Among those evacuated are “nine women and about 40 unaccompanied minors,” the NGO added on Twitter, posting photos of the rescue.
The survivors, mostly “exhausted, some suffering from petrol burns and injuries”, were cared for by SOS Méditerranée and a Red Cross team.
Some, too weak, had to be transported on a stretcher and warmed by blankets.
The central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The UN agency estimates that in 2022, 1,417 migrants disappeared there.
