On Sunday, 118 migrants were rescued in two different operations in the central Mediterranean. The youngest survivor is only three years old, said the German NGO Sea Watch. With the new rescue ship “Sea Watch 5”, the German aid organization is continuing its search and rescue operation in the central Mediterranean. The new ship was christened in Hamburg at the beginning of November.
Civilian sea rescuers have been a thorn in the side of Italy’s right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for some time. With a new law, it is trying to restrict operations by private rescue organizations. Aid organizations repeatedly criticize that they are prevented from rescuing people in distress at sea.
153,677 migrants (as of December 22nd) have arrived in southern Italy since the beginning of 2023 following sea journeys across the Mediterranean. In the comparable period of 2022 there were 101,120, said the Interior Ministry in Rome.
