The organizations SOS MEDITERRANEE and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called on European countries to facilitate the urgent assignment of a port to disembark migrants rescued in the Mediterranean 10 days ago and establish a predictable and coordinated mechanism for such disembarkations, avoiding unnecessary delays.
The Ocean Viking is still awaiting a place of safety to disembark 104 migrants rescued in international waters on October 18.
"In the past four months, several European leaders met on three occasions showing a will to establish a temporary disembarkation and distribution mechanism for people rescued in the central Mediterranean. Yet today, 104 survivors are once again left in limbo on the deck of a rescue ship with no solution for their disembarkation in sight, adding to their suffering after being rescued from distress at sea. Europe can and should show more solidarity towards its coastal States," said Louise Guillaumat, deputy director of SOS MEDITERRANEE's operations.
There are two pregnant women and 41 children under the age of 18, including a two-month-old among those rescued by the Ocean Viking on October 18. (ILKHA)