(Marseille) The Ocean Viking ambulance ship chartered by SOS Méditerranée rescued 75 migrants in distress, including 23 women and 17 children, in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of southeastern Italy on the night of Thursday to Friday, announced the NGO based in Marseille.
The people, who had been sailing for seven days aboard a sailboat that left Izmir, Turkey, had exhausted their water and food reserves for two days, according to SOS Méditerranée, which operates the Ocean Viking in partnership with the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Most of the survivors come from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, according to the NGO, which had been alerted to this distress situation by the Italian Maritime Rescue Center (MRCC).
The Ocean Viking was returning from the port of Ravenna (north-eastern Italy) where it had disembarked 47 people rescued during a previous rescue and was heading towards Sicily and the central Mediterranean area where it usually carries out its operations. It is now heading towards the port of Taranto (southern Italy), which has been designated for it by the Italian authorities.
The Ionian Sea is bordered to the west by Italy and to the east by Greece.
Since 2023, 2,467 migrants have gone missing after trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).