More than 900 migrants disembarked at the port of Catania after being transferred to an Italian Coast Guard ship following seven rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. There were 200 children among the migrants.
The Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti arrived in the port of Catania on the morning of June 13, bringing 932 migrants who were saved in seven different rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. There were also two bodies aboard, which were recovered during rescue operations.
Five of the migrants - four pregnant women and a child - were transferred with emergency service helicopters to Sicilian hospitals in Agrigento and Palermo, after an initial transfer to Lampedusa. Specialised personnel were on hand at the ship's arrival to handle the disembarkation, along with investigators from the local police assigned by the Catania district prosecutor's office to handle investigations in the case.
Silent arrival at the port
Stefano Principato, Catania provincial Red Cross president, said there weren't any unusual cases aboard, and that all the migrants in the most critical condition had been hospitalized. Of the more than 900 migrants, about 800 will be transferred to other Italian regions. The others will remain in Sicily.
At the ship's arrival, the migrants were silent, almost incredulous that their desperate voyage was ending. Rescue workers, journalists, cameramen and photographers were awaiting their arrival. One woman, speaking to journalists, said, "We have been on the ship for three days, today I'm very happy, long live Italy".
Save the Children said 200 children aboard
"There was a considerable number of children, around 200," said Save the Children spokeswoman Giovanna Di Benedetto, speaking with journalists at the port of Catania. "There are small children, the youngest is three months old and traveling with his family, but most are unaccompanied," she said.
"We have met many Eritreans, and we've seen that many have been very tired by the conditions and the voyage. Often because of the conditions in which they face the long voyage prior to the Mediterranean crossing and the stay in Libya, it's a journey during which they encounter violence, unspeakable horrors, hardships, slavery and torture. It's not a walk in the park. Certainly for us, the priority is saving human lives. It's important, and any other issue must be discussed between the states at the European level, but, I repeat, the priority is always saving human lives".