The crew of the migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking rescued 23 people at sea in the Libyan search and rescue region, including several women and children, the NGO which operates the ship, posted on X on Thursday (September 17).  Italy's Guardia di Finanza, the country's financial and customs police force, which also operates patrol boats and conducts maritime border patrols, also carried out a migrant rescue operation, according to the news agency Reuters, which distributed pictures from the boat the migrants had been on.

"This morning Ocean Viking rescued 23 people from a distressed rubber boat in the Libya SRR, following a Mayday relay from a Frontex drone," SOS Méditerranée posted. "Among the survivors are five women and several unaccompanied minors. They had no food or water at sea. They are now safe and receiving care." The NGO did not provide further information about the 23 people rescued. 

Reuters images by photographer Stephane Mahe show the aftermath of the migrant rescues in the central Mediterranean, including an empty boat with clothes and personal belongings left behind after its occupants were rescued by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, according to the news agency. Other images show the Ocean Viking crew carrying out the rescue in the Libyan search-and-rescue region, with a Frontex surveillance drone overhead.

On Friday, the rescue organization SOS Méditeranée added that after carrying out the rescue of 23 people, their boat "altered course" following another Mayday relay, towards a boat carrying around 80 migrants. However, just before the Ocean Viking arrived near enough to the boat to facilitate a rescue, they said they saw those on board being approached by a Libyan coast guard vessel and taken back to Libya. "As our team approached, we witnessed the Libyan Coast Guard intercept the boat and return those on board to Libya," they commented on X.

The Ocean Viking, confirmed SOS Méditerranée, is now sailing towards the assigned port of safety in Italy, Marina di Carrara on the Florentine coast (western Italy). On Friday (September 18), they said it would take them three days to reach the port.

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SOS Méditerranée has operated the Ocean Viking as a civilian search-and-rescue vessel in the central Mediterranean since 2019.

Thousands of people attempt the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Europe each year, with many departing from Libya or Tunisia, and deadly accidents are frequent along the route. Thousands have died or gone missing while attempting the journey, with SOS Méditerranée among a network of vessels and aircraft monitoring the waters and carrying out rescues.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced Thursday (September 17) that sea arrivals to Europe had fallen sharply in 2026, even as the number of fatalities or people going missing during the journey increased. 

Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees had reached European shores by September 15, down almost 40 percent from the same period in 2025, while nearly 2,300 people died or disappeared while trying to cross the Mediterranean or Atlantic, compared with about 2,000 a year earlier.

Along the central Mediterranean route to Italy, arrivals dropped from more than 49,000 in 2025 to over 21,000 since the beginning of 2026, but the number of people who died or went missing rose from 844 to 996. IOM Director General Amy Pope said the deaths and disappearances were preventable and called for greater international cooperation to save lives, tackle trafficking and improve and expand legal migration routes.