A total of 403 migrants
disembarked from the Ocean Viking in Taranto on Wednesday and
rescue workers said the migrants had faced a "nightmare
journey".
The Taranto prefecture said there were 12 pregnant women, 132
unaccompanied minors (some between 11-13 years old), and 20
families aboard the NGO ship run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors
Without Borders.
The migrants are from Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso,
Kenya, Nigeria, Mali and Somalia.
They were rescued in recent days in the Mediterranean, in
five nighttime operations made difficult by bad weather at sea.
Many of the migrants were crowded into small boats full of
water that nearly overturned numerous times.
Others were suffering from hypothermia and seasickness,
covered with fuel, travelling aboard an overcrowded rubber boat.
There were some smiling faces among those who disembarked,
but the faces were also marked by fatigue and tension.
Sources said health workers found two cases of tuberculosis
and some cases of fuel burns due to contact with the fuel on
board and seawater, but said the overall condition of the
survivors was "rather good".
The minors, who made up more than one-third of those
disembarked, are headed for educational communities in Taranto
and the province.
The adults will be transferred by bus to the migrant hotspot
in Taranto, where they will remain for 48 to 72 hours for
identification procedures before being taken to other centres.
Rescue workers said the rescues "were difficult, with rough
seas, at night".
"There were some scenes of panic, but SOS Mediterranee and
Doctors Without Borders did an extraordinary job," rescue
workers said.
"The crew is also tired; they rescued people at sea whose
lives were at risk. These migrants deserve a bit of peace and
rest. Now they can start a new life in Italy and abroad," they
said.
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