After an initial operation by the migrant rescue ship Mare Jonio in cooperation with the Italian coast guard, the vessel participated in two additional rescues between Saturday and Sunday (August 24-25), supported by a sailboat of the Catholic Foundation, the NGO said in a statement.

On Saturday afternoon, August 24, the Mare Jonio, together with the sailboat Migrantes, received multiple distress calls near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa from boats that had departed from Libya and Tunisia.

Thanks to surveillance by the Colibrì aircraft of Pilotes Volontaires, the ship operated by Mediterranea Saving Humans located a sinking wooden boat with 67 people on board, including 16 women and 15 small children.

A rescue team reached the vessel, which was about 25 nautical miles from Lampedusa, distributed life vests, and stabilized the boat. The coast guard, alerted by the Mare Jonio, then took the passengers to Lampedusa.

The Mare Jonio and Migrantes continued south, patrolling the Central Mediterranean and responding to distress calls from Alarm Phone, civil aircraft, and Tunisian and Sicilian fishermen, Mediteranea Saving Humans stated.

Also read: Hundreds of migrants rescued in Central Mediterranean

Four-day-journey at sea

In the night between Saturday and Sunday, it carried out another rescue operation after finding in the dark an overcrowded rubber dinghy adrift in the Mediterranean some 30 miles south of Lampedusa.

A total of 50 passengers, including two women and 43 unaccompanied minors, were evacuated to the Mare Jonio. They were mainly Ethiopian nationals with some also coming from Sudan. The dinghy had departed four days before from Abu Kammash and its long permanence at sea had debilitated passengers, many of whom were severely dehydrated.

Shortly after the rescue, around 2:40 am, the coast guard transferred the passengers to a cutter for transport to Lampedusa.

Also read: 10 years of sea rescue, Sea-Eye asks for solutions in the Med

Rescues carried out in Maltese search-and-rescue zone

The Mare Jonio and its support ship then headed south to respond to two more distress calls reported by Alarm Phone. At around 6:10 am on Sunday, they reached a sinking vessel 40 miles south of Lampedusa, rescuing 65 people, including five unaccompanied minors, from Syria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Many showed signs of abuse endured during their time in Libya, according to Mare Jonio personnel.

The rescue team also reported that, although its three rescue operations were carried out in the SAR zone under Malta's jurisdiction, Maltese authorities were informed did not offer assistance in these cases.

The Mare Jonio coordinated with the Italian maritime rescue center IT MRCC in Rome, which assigned Pozzallo as a safe port of landing for the last 65 people.

Also read: Libyan patrol boat fired shots at Mare Jonio rescue ship, NGO says

110 migrants reach Lampedusa between Sunday night and Monday

Meanwhile, 110 migrants reached Lampedusa between Sunday night and Monday morning in six separate landings. The migrant boats were rescued by coast guards, finance police and the NGO Trotamar III.

The passengers were all taken to the local hotspot which is currently hosting nearly 900 people. Also on Monday morning, the disembarkation of 67 migrants from Bangladesh and Syria, including five unaccompanied minors, was completed from the Mare Jonio ship by authorities in Pozzallo.

Also read: Faraway Italian port assignments wasted sea-rescue NGO ships 'more than a year' in 2023