The crew of the Italian ship rescued 65 migrants, including women and children, in the Mediterranean Sea. They sailed from Libya to Europe on an overcrowded wooden boat.
The boat was drifting because its engine was not working. She was spotted from the air by the crew of the Seabird, a non-governmental organization that monitors the situation in the Mediterranean.
There were no life jackets on the boat. They were rescued in international waters by the Italian tugboat Asso Ventinove near the Buri oil field at the request of Seabird. On board the plane was a journalist for the American news agency Associated Press, who spoke about the rescue operation. All survivors, including five children.
Soon, a Libyan coast guard ship arrived at the scene. Libyan authorities often confiscate boats leaving their territory.
This year alone, some 44,000 people reached the shores of Europe across the Mediterranean from Tunisia and Libya, using the “services” of smugglers, who often offered them boats unsuitable for sailing at sea. About half of the refugees reached Lampedusa, an Italian island closer to North Africa than Italy.