Nearly 60 migrants previously stranded at sea on Aquarius arrive in France

Nearly 60 migrants previously stranded at sea on Aquarius arrive in France
Copyright Office Français de l’Immigration et Intégration via Twitter
Copyright Office Français de l’Immigration et Intégration via Twitter
By Julia Atherley
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They are primarily from Sudan, with some also coming from Somalia, Eritrea and Chad.

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Fifty-nine of the migrants who were rescued by the humanitarian ship Aquarius have now arrived in France. They landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Thursday.

They are primarily from Sudan, with some also coming from Somalia, Eritrea and Chad.

The ship was stranded at sea for days after rescuing 141 migrants off the coast of Libya on 11th August. The boat was finally allowed to dock in Malta on 15 August after a deal was reached between Germany, Spain, Portugal, France and Luxembourg.

Aquarius is operated by French-German charity SOS Méditerranée and Doctors Without Borders. In June, the ship found itself stuck at sea for seven days with 630 rescued migrants on board.

Guglielmo Mangiapane / SOS MEDITERRANEE.
Migrants finally left the Aquarius in Malta on 15th AugustGuglielmo Mangiapane / SOS MEDITERRANEE.

The French Office of Immigration and Integration documented the arrival of the 59 people on their Twitter, adding that the arrivals were made up of 37 men, 17 women, and 5 children. 29 of the migrants will be housed in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region of France, with 17 in the Loire Valley, and 14 in the Grand East Region.

Aquarius is operated by French-German charity SOS Méditerranée and Doctors Without Borders. In June, the ship found itself stuck at sea for seven days with 630 rescued migrants on board.

The deal highlighted the desire for a more permanent solution to the migrant crisis, with the Diciotti ship finding itself stranded in the port of Catania only five days after the Aquarius was allowed to dock.

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