Six successful rescue operations for migrants off Malta and Libya in the Central Mediterranean were carried out. More than 700 candidates for illegal emigration aboard boats were rescued from Saturday, July 31 to Sunday, August 1, 2021. In this area, the number of victims in the first quarter of 2021 is estimated at 1,113, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The ship of the German NGO Sea-Watch succeeded the last rescue operation by saving 106 migrants in a boat in distress on Sunday evening.
A large rescue operation has helped to rescue more than 700 migrants this weekend off Malta and Libya. Among these candidates for illegal emigration, there are 22 nationalities from Bangladesh, West and Central Africa, at least 28 of them are pregnant. 81 minors were counted, of which 66 were unaccompanied.
The Ocean Viking, Sea-Watch and ResQship boats made this delicate mission possible in an area where many migrants died in 2021.
Note that throughout 2020, 2170 migrants died at sea, according to the Spanish NGO Caminando, a number almost reached in the first six months of 2021. Since February 2016, SOS Méditerranée has claimed to have rescued more than 34,000 people travelling by boat for this dangerous crossing.
