Open Arms crew demands urgent evacuation of all persons on board
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The crew of the rescue ship Open Arms is requesting the urgent evacuation of all migrants on board, amid reports some had become aggressive or suicidal and had threatened to jump into the sea.
The vessel, carrying 134 migrants, has been stranded in Italian waters for weeks as a battle within Italy’s coalition has prevented it from docking.
A handful of those with urgent medical needs were accepted by authorities in Lampedusa on Thursday.
Earlier, six EU nations — France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, and Spain — agreed to resettle some of those onboard, but the European Commission said the longer-term situation over the vessel was ‘untenable’.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has ordered officials to prevent the boat from disembarking the migrants, who were rescued off Libya 16 days ago, in defiance of orders from PM Mario Conte.
The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, urged Italian authorities to let the ship enter the port on Friday.
“Today, my office was in contact with the captain of the Open Arms mission who described conditions on board as scarcely tolerable. The situation has become dramatic,” said Sassoli.
“The immigrants have been blocked on the vessel for already 14 days just one kilometre off the port of Lampedusa.”
He added: “They are now giving up and are inflicting acts of self-harm, while they lose sense of reality. The hygiene conditions on board are worse than ever and it is necessary to allow an immediate disembarkation of those on board. I hope that the Italian authorities understand the gravity of the humanitarian emergency on board the vessel and agree to let them enter the port today.
