97 people have been plucked from the sea while trying to gain illegal entry into the EU.
Many of them were from originally from Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Mali, Benin and Sierra Leone, a country stricken with an outbreak of Ebola.
Having spent around 12 hours at sea after leaving Libya Phoenix, 40-metre vessel operated by the charity by Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), found them in a rubber dinghy
Among the 97 rescued were four women, one of whom was six-months pregnant. The pregnant woman made the journey alone, except for a female friend who she met in Libya.
MOAS took the migrants on board, where medical staff provided first aid, blankets, food and water.
The would-be immigrants were taken to Porto Empedocle in Italy for disembarkation. There, port authorities evacuated the pregnant woman and her companion for treatment. The transfer of the remaining 95 people began the following day.
MOAS is a private NGO initiative to save lives in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the world’s deadliest border crossings.
Its aim is to provide assistance at sea in co-ordination with the Rescue Coordination Centres in the region.
