By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
More than 50 African migrants, including nine children, were rescued from an overcrowded boat in the central Mediterranean on Friday evening, humanitarian officials said.
The rescue was carried out by the Italian NGO Emergency, which said it had earlier in the day assisted another group of 41 migrants stranded at sea.
According to the organisation, those rescued in the second operation were nationals of Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, South Sudan, Guinea, The Gambia, Sudan, and people identified as being from Biafra.
In both incidents, the NGO’s rescue team was deployed after the boats were spotted in international waters within the Libyan Search and Rescue zone.
The migrants are currently being transported aboard the Life Support and are expected to disembark in the Italian port city of Civitavecchia, which is several days’ sail from the rescue area.
The rescued migrants are part of a steady flow of people from Africa and other regions attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to reach the European Union, often travelling in fragile and overcrowded boats in search of better economic opportunities and safer living conditions.
