MSF Charity Ship Brings Over 550 Refugees Rescued At Sea To Sicily - Reports

The Geo Barents ship operated by the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity organization has brought to Sicily 558 refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea from December 17 to December 24, Italian media reported on Wednesday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2021) The Geo Barents ship operated by the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity organization has brought to Sicily 558 refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea from December 17 to December 24, Italian media reported on Wednesday.

The charity ship is currently docked in the port of Augusta, according to RaiNews24 broadcaster. Local authorities are now giving health checks to the rescued migrants, mainly of African and Syrian origin, the news said. Among them are 145 minors, including six children under four years old, and nearly 80% of them have come to Europe unaccompanied by adults, the report said.

There are 35 women on board the ship, three of them are pregnant, the broadcaster said. Many migrants have wounds, burns and injuries from beating, the news added.

Another charity vessel is waiting offshore to bring 440 more refugees, including over 200 minors. Italian government has not yet authorized its arrival to the port, according to RaiNews24.

Sicily and Lampedusa Island have faced an inflow of migrants coming by sea from Africa and Syria in recent months. Since January, about 66,500 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea, according to the Italian Interior Ministry, compared to 34,000 a year earlier and 11,500 in 2019.