The NGO facilitated the disembarkment after rescuing the migrants two days prior in international waters in the Libya Search and Rescue (SAR) zone.

The disembarking, which was planned for early afternoon, was delayed due to rough seas, the NGO said.

Immediately following the rescue, the NGO complained of the distance of the port assigned given the poor weather conditions.

Eighth disembarkment at Marina di Carrara in 2023

"The disembarking concluded without difficulties. It took us three days of sailing through rough seas and unfavorable weather conditions that forced us to go more slowly to get to the Marina di Carrara port from the area where the rescue was carried out, " said Life Support mission chief Emanuele Nannini.

"It does not make any sense that ports so far away are assigned, forcing already fragile people to stay longer at sea."

The disembarking was coordinated by the Massa Carrara prefect's office and was the eighth this year for the port in the Tuscany region.

'From Congo to Libya, where they sold me to a farmer'

The rescued included nationals of Congo, Syria and Gambia.

"I am from sub-Saharan Africa. I left due to war and continual conflict in my region," one migrant said. "After fleeing I went to my aunt, who lives in Congo, where I worked for some months transporting heavy cargo using lorries. Then I moved to Cameroon, where I had some friends, and then to Chad, when I ended up working in a gold mine in the desert near the border with Libya."

"I got out only because they sold me to a Libyan farmer that took me to his farm to take care of his animals, where I spent some months without being paid," he said, noting that the situation had continued until "as a 'reward' for my work, some armed Libyans arrived and took me with them. They told me they would take me with them to Europe."

"Luckily we survived the journey but I have no idea what to expect from Europe and what the future holds for me. For now it is enough that I am alive. I still don't want to think about the rest," he said.