In busy day for rescues at sea, migrants rejoice when told they've "made it"

Record ID: 875326

  • Title: In busy day for rescues at sea, migrants rejoice when told they've "made it"
  • Date: 18th May 2017
  • Summary: AT SEA (MAY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) RESCUERS APPROACHING RUBBER BOATS CARRYING LARGE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS RESCUERS ON DINGHY CARRYING LIFE VESTS NEXT TO MIGRANT BOAT LARGE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS ON TWO RUBBER BOATS WITH RESCUE VESSELS NEAR THEM MIGRANTS WEARING LIFE VESTS ON RESCUE BOAT WOMEN AND CHILDREN BEING HELPED BOARD RESCUE BOAT TO BE TRANSFERRED ONTO RESCUE VESSEL / WOMAN HO
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2017 18:38
  • Keywords: Libya rubber boat Aquarius MOAS Mediterranean rescue migrants
  • Location: AT SEA
  • City: AT SEA
  • Country: At Sea
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016HDAHJB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Migrants on dinghies in the Mediterranean were brought on board the rescue ship Aquarius, operated by SOS Mediterranean and Doctors without Borders, during a busy day for rescues at sea.
    Operations began at dawn on Thursday (May 18) and by the end of the day some 2,300 migrants had been pulled off 22 wooden and rubber boats in the Mediterranean.
    At one point, 10 migrant boats could be seen floating on the horizon just outside Libya's territorial waters, with the shoreline visible in the distance. A surveillance aircraft circled above and Libyan coast guard speed boats set fire to migrant boats once their passengers had been recovered, to stop smugglers recovering and reusing them.
    Two rigid-hulled inflatable boats were launched to collect the migrants from over-loaded rubber boats and bring them - 18 or 20 at a time - to the ship.
    Nigerians, Sudanese, Moroccans, and Bangladeshis were among those rescued by the Aquarius. About 10 small children who travelled with their families were among those rescued, as were more than 90 unaccompanied minors and about 10 pregnant women.
    Smugglers are cramming migrants onto boats in Libya at a record pace this year. Arrivals in Italy, where rescued migrants are brought, are up 35 percent on the same period last year.
    Many have endured years-long journeys that took them across the Sahara desert to Libya, where often they fall into the hands of criminal groups who detain, extort, abuse, buy and sell them. The lucky ones get onto boats and are rescued by European vessels.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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