The crew of the Ocean Viking, a rescue ship of SOS Méditerranée, took the refugees on board. The 37 people on board had left the North African coast to reach the European Union. The crossing is dangerous and the boats in which people leave are often not seaworthy.
According to various media, a migrant boat with nearly thirty people on board sank between the Tunisian coast and the Italian island of Lampedusa on Friday. Three of them died, including a small child. Fishermen first brought the people on board, the Italian coastguard then took them over and brought them to Lampedusa, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
Donor-funded organizations repeatedly travel to the area to rescue migrants from drowning. Currently, the ‘Geo Barents’ of Doctors Without Borders is also active again.