Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) has rescued a further 104 migrants at sea this morning after having saved 369 yesterday.
The Phoenix left Malta on Saturday in a joint operation between the Migrant Offshore Aid Station and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders.
Italian forces rescued more than 6,000 migrants over the weekend as a tide of asylum seekers try to reach Europe by boat.
The migrants rescued by the Phoenix this morning were transferred onto a commercial vessel.
MOAS said the migrants rescued yesterday were primarily from Eritrea and included pregnant women and 45 children, including babies.
“Nothing prepares you for the sight of 369 people crammed into a fishing boat,” said Christopher Catrambone, the co-founder of MOAS along with his wife Regina.
“The people we rescued yesterday afternoon were packed in so tightly (in their boat) that their legs had cramped and they struggled to move as we rescued them. Even after hours of rescue there were so many people left it didn’t seem that the boat was emptying, it was just that full.”
Those taken on board by the MOAS rescue crews were given an initial triage by the MSF medical team who treated conditions including diabetes, dehydration, conditions related to pregnancy, skin infections and injuries sustained during beatings and violent attacks. All those rescued are currently in a stable condition and receiving food, water and other essential items.
“Yesterday we rescued 369 people, and helped save the lives of 104 more,” said Will Turner, Emergency Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières.
“The boat is absolutely crammed full and last night, as the men, women and children we rescued curled up under blankets to sleep, there wasn’t a centimetre to spare. The scale of this crisis is just heartbreaking, I wish we could do more.”
MSF teams in Pozzallo, Sicily, are currently providing support during the landing of more than 800 survivors of this weekend's Mediterranean crossing. Teams on the ground in Sicily will provide initial medical screening as well as health care and mental health support to the hundred of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in need.