Ocean Viking rescues 109 migrants in two operations

(ANSA) - Rome, September 17 - The Ocean Viking migrant-rescue ship picked up 109 people in two operations in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, said medical-aid NGO MSF, which runs the vessel with SOS Méditerranée.
    It said via Twitter that it rescued 48 people from a wooden boat in distress, 53 nautical miles from the coast of #Libya, including women, very young children and a newborn baby.
    The ship then picked up 61 people from a rubber dinghy in distress.
    Many of the people picked up from the dinghy were being treated by MSF medics for fuel inhalation, it said. At the weekend the Ocean Viking was allowed to disembark 82 migrants at the Italian island of Lampedusa, a decision that marked a shift in Italian policy under Premier Giuseppe Conte's second government.
    NGO-run migrant-rescue ships were denied access to Italy's ports under former interior minister and League leader Matteo Salvini, who pulled the plug on Conte's first government last month.