Spanish non-governmental organization (NGO) Open Arms rescued 44 migrants from the sea, off the southern coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, on Sunday (11/8).
Cynthia Martin, captain of the Astral, the Open Arms rescue vessel, reported there were 44 people on board, including five women, three children and a baby.
Martin then gave them life jackets, water and food and stayed with them until the Italian ship Guardia di Finanza arrived to take them to Lampedusa.
Afterwards, a rescue crew from Astral painted the iron ship so that the sailors would know that the ship's passengers had been rescued.
A controversial plan in Italy to set up detention camps in Albania for migrants picked up at sea was shelved on Aug. 1. A source familiar with the matter said the plan was weeks behind schedule.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had announced August 1 as the inauguration date for the facilities during her visit to Albania in June. Her government had previously hoped to have them operational by this spring.
Meloni's right-wing government signed a deal with Albania last year to set up the camp as part of its efforts to stem immigration. Meloni said it would process about 36,000 migrants a year through two facilities, one at the port of Shengjin and the other at Gjader.
Opposition parties and human rights organisations have condemned the plan, which resembles a similar migrant deportation deal between Britain and Rwanda that has now been abandoned. (uh/jm)
