Sea-Watch 3 allowed to bring rescued boat migrants to Sicily

Rome (dpa) – The private aid ship Sea-Watch 3 has been permitted to bring ashore 363 boat migrants rescued from distress at sea, the Berlin-based organization Sea-Watch announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

Italy has allowed the ship to dock at the port of Augusta near Syracuse on the Mediterranean island of Sicily, where the ship was expected to arrive in the evening.

A spokeswoman for the organization did not know at first exactly how the landing was to proceed.

The ship had picked up the people in several operations from small boats at sea.

The small boats set off in large numbers from the war-torn North African country of Libya in the direction of Europe.

The crossing from Libya, which is a hub for migrants from many countries, is considered dangerous. Civil aid organizations routinely rescue distressed migrants at sea, though the operations are controversial in some countries.

The helpers often take the people to Italy, where they are placed in a coronavirus quarantine after the authorities have given the okay for them to dock.

File Photo – An official from the Italian Ministry of Health wearing a protective suit holds an infant as migrants disembark from the NGO-run search-and-rescue ship Sea Watch 3 at the port in Messina, Sicily Island, southern Italy, 27 February 2020. According to media reports, all migrants and crew members of the rescue ship who arrived today in the port of Messina, will be kept in isolation for two weeks as part of precautionary measures imposed by the Italian government against the spreading of the novel coronavirus. EPA-EFE/CARMELO IMBESI