Rescue ship ‘Ocean Viking’ docks in Sicily, disembarks 182 migrants

A humanitarian ship has docked in Italy to disembark 182 men, women and children rescued in the Mediterranean Sea after fleeing Libya.

The ‘Ocean Viking’ arrived in the Sicilian port of Messina with Italy’s permission on Tuesday morning. On land, police and the Red Cross waited for the migrants – who were picked up from three different boats on September 17-18 – to step out, AP reported.

France, Germany, Italy, Malta and Finland agreed on Monday to a temporary arrangement to share out migrants rescued while trying to cross the sea from Libya in unseaworthy boats operated by human traffickers. However, officials are pushing for a wider deal involving more EU countries.