Italy opens the door for 180 immigrants, including Bangladeshi.
After more than a week, Italy finally allowed 180 migrants to disembark from the Mediterranean. Last Friday, the rescue ship ‘The Ocean Viking’ issued an emergency alert considering the safety risks to both passengers and crew.
On Monday, the migrants will be transferred to a government ship in Sicily. They will be kept in quarantine for 14 days.
Corona tests have already been performed on all immigration candidates. The results are expected by Monday.
The Ocean Viking, a ship operated by the SOS Mediterranean Group, rescued 180 migrants from Libya in four batches between June 25 to 30. Among them are citizens of several countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Eritrea and Nigeria. Among them are at least 25 children and two women. One of the women is pregnant.
The rescue ship was waiting for permission for immigrants to land in Italy or Malta. Italy finally gave that permission.
As time went on, passengers became more and more desperate to reach shore, the international news agency AFP reported. Many became enraged at not being able to send news home.
A passenger on the ship said there had been several fights, with many threatening to commit suicide.
“We are very happy,” said Rabiul, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant who was allowed to disembark from the rescue ship. We have come a long way, Libya was like hell. Now we can see at least the last one. I need to let my family know that I am still alive.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 110,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year. More than 1,200 of them lost their lives.
News Room, july 06,2020