Italy authorizes the disembarkation of 113 migrants rescued by the 'Ocean Viking'

MADRID, 28 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Italian Rescue Coordination Center (ITMRCC) has assigned this Tuesday to the 'Ocean Viking', managed by the NGO SOS Mediterranée, the port of the city of Ravenna to disembark with 113 migrants on board rescued from the sea the night before.

This was detailed by the organization itself in a statement, showing its complaints about the location of the port offered by the Government of Italy, 900 nautical miles from the town of La Spezia, the closest port where the rescue took place.

"After the rescue of 113 people, the Italian Rescue Coordination Center (ITMRCC) has assigned the 'Ocean Viking' a remote place of security (La Spezia) (...) Within a few hours, the ITMRCC assigned a new port, Ravenna, 900 nautical miles or four long days of navigation", wields the NGO in a message on the social network Twitter.

During the previous night, the 'Ocean Viking' evacuated 112 people who were aboard a black inflatable boat overloaded with people. In it, 23 women were traveling, some of them pregnant, about thirty unaccompanied minors and three babies, including a minor of only three weeks.

"We are relieved for the survivors on board, but we are also concerned about other potential ships in distress in the central Mediterranean, as we are the only search and rescue NGO currently operating at sea," SOS Mediterranée stressed in its letter.

Italy's decision to grant a port to the 'Ocean Viking' comes more than a month after it denied the same NGO access to the country, leading France to offer a safe harbor for the then 234 migrants.

The new Government of Italy, headed by the far-right Giorgia Meloni, has promised to be stricter with these permits.

More than 1,300 people have died this year in the central Mediterranean alone, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).