1,100 migrants in limbo as ports to rescue ships shut

MILAN >> Two German-run migrant rescue ships carrying nearly 300 rescued people were waiting off the eastern coast of Sicily on Saturday, one with permission to disembark its most vulnerable migrants while the other’s request for a safe port has gone unanswered despite “critical” conditions on board.

Chaos and uncertainty has resulted from the decision late Friday by Italy’s far-right-led government to close its ports to humanitarian rescue ships.

Nearly 1,100 rescued migrants aboard four ships run by European charity organizations are stuck in the Mediterranean Sea, some with people rescued as long as two weeks ago amid deteriorating conditions on board.