A child being transferred to the Aquarius © AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
ON BOARD THE AQUARIUS, ZZZ, May 13 – More than 70 migrants, including three children, were rescued Saturday off the coast of Libya as the Aquarius, chartered by the NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders came to their aid.
An AFP photographer was aboard the vessel as rescuers hauled at least 73 people to safety, including 12 women, nine youths and three children.
Around half the group were Algerians; the remainder from sub-Saharan Africa © AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
Around half the group — 37 — were Algerian with the remainder from sub-Saharan Africa.
German NGO Seefuchs said it had picked 19 other migrants headed for the Sicilian port of Trapani, where they were to be disembarked.
Migrants pulled from the waves take selfies on the Aquarius vessel chartered by two NGOs off Libya © AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
The International Organization for Migration tweeted meanwhile that the Libyan coastguard had picked up a further 241 people, including five children, taking the annual total to 6,400 so far.
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