Spanish Charity Rescues 117 Migrants Adrift from Libya

The Spanish charity "Open Arms" announced that it rescued 117 migrants today, Saturday, who were aboard a dilapidated wooden boat that set sail from Libya in the latest perilous Mediterranean crossing. The capsizing of a boat off Greece last week, which resulted in the deaths of at least 78 people among hundreds on a crowded fishing vessel, has once again highlighted the deaths of thousands of migrants each year as they flee poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East. Open Arms stated in a press release that it recovered 117 individuals from the sea today, most of whom are from Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya, including 25 women and a three-year-old child. The rescue operation took place in international waters, 30 kilometers off the Libyan coast, after the boat left the port of Sabratha under the cover of darkness at 01:00 GMT, according to the statement and a spokesperson for the charity. The organization reported that all passengers are currently undergoing medical checks aboard its vessel, without providing further details on where they will be transferred.