Migrants in Med ‘ignored by five ships’

MORE than 140 migrants rescued by an aid group as they drifted in the Mediterranean have claimed five ships passed them by without plucking them to safety.

The migrants, including 67 unaccompanied children, were mainly from Somalia and Eritrea and were believed to have been at sea for about 35 hours on a small wooden boat that had no motor.

Over the past few months, southern European countries have taken a hard line on those rescued as they try to cross the Mediterranean, refusing to allow ships to dock and the migrants to disembark. This means commercial ships risk being blocked for days at sea.

European aid group SOS Mediterranee said its ship Aquarius spotted the group on Friday. A spokesman added: ‘In a disturbing development, rescued people told our teams they encountered five different ships that did not offer them assistance.

‘This could be due to the high risk of being stranded and denied a place of safety.’

In June, Aquarius was forced to sail to Spain with more than 600 rescued migrants after Italy and Malta refused it permission to dock.

The vessel was still in the Mediterranean last night hoping to receive docking permission from a country.