First NGO rescue mission in over a month saves the lives of close to 200 people
European states have blockaded seven civilian rescue ships from going back to sea since October
Refugees fall in the sea after the floor in their boat rips apart
AROUND 199 refugees have been saved in the central Mediterranean by NGO rescuers for the first time since European states blockaded seven civilian rescue ships over a month ago.
The Open Arms rescue ship left Barcelona, Spain, on November 4 and headed to international waters off the coast of Libya — where a protracted civil war and widespread human rights abuses in the country’s migrant detention camps has caused thousands to flee across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Late on Tuesday afternoon the Open Arms’s crew brought on board 88 people they found covered in petrol in a deflating rubber boat.
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