A group of 41 migrants who had been saved at sea were disembarked in Lampedusa. They had been rescued by the NGO Sea Watch, after a six-day wait. Seven people are missing at sea.
The rescue vessel Aurora SAR, operated by Sea-Watch, arrived in Lampedusa on Wednesday, September 3, carrying 41 migrants.
The migrants -- from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malaysia, and Sudan -- had left Zuara, Libya, on the evening of August 27, after paying 800 euros each for the trip.
According to their accounts, seven of their fellow travelers fell into the water due to rough seas -- two on the first night and five on the following night -- and it was impossible to help them back onto the rubber dinghy.
Read AlsoEurope demands answers from Libya after rescue boat shooting
Tunisian authorities rejected by shipwrecked migrants
On August 28, they were taken on board the Egyptian supply ship Maridive 208 in the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone, following instructions from the Tunisian Navy.
In a statement issued September 2, Sea Watch said that on August 31, Tunisian authorities allegedly arrived with the intention of forcibly transferring the people to Tunisia -- an option that was refused by the shipwrecked migrants.
Sea Watch reiterated that Tunisia is not considered a "safe port" due to the lack of a functioning asylum system.
Following repeated appeals by the warning network Alarm Phone, denouncing the risk of rejection toward Tunisia and the presence of 41 people in the Maltese SAR area, Sea Watch decided to intervene.
On September 2, the Aurora SAR evacuated the migrants after six days in international waters, while waiting for instructions from Italian or Maltese authorities on a safe port. Prior to the intervention, monitoring flights, including the Seabird and an Italian helicopter (on September 1) had observed the situation without direct rescue.
Lampedusa was designated as the safe port to ensure both navigational security and the well-being of those on board, and the 41 migrants disembarked on the morning of September 3.