The Spanish rescue ship „Open Arms“, which took in 265 shipwrecked people in two actions in the Mediterranean in the past few days, is supposed to land in Sicily. The Italian Ministry of the Interior assigned the ship Porto Empedocle in western Sicily as a port, Italian media reported. The arrival of the ship is expected today.
The landing permit was given in view of the difficult weather conditions. Before that, Malta had refused to take in the migrants, „Open Arms“ reported on Twitter. After arriving in Sicily, the newcomers have to be quarantined.
The sea rescuers picked up the 169 men, women and children from wooden boats off Libya on New Year’s Eve, according to „Open Arms“. On Saturday, 96 boat migrants were added during a second emergency operation. Many of the rescued came from Eritrea, it was said.
