The Italian humanitarian group 'Emergency' said on Saturday it rescued 87 people, including women and children, in the Mediterranean Sea.
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Almost 90 migrants in an overcrowded boat adrift in the Mediterranean Sea have been saved by a humanitarian group.
A rescue ship from the Italian NGO 'Emergency' rescued 87 people stranded in the sea on Friday evening. They had departed from Zawiya, Libya 20 hours earlier.
They were without food and water and their boat was adrift and overcrowded.
When the rescue crew arrived, they found the boat taking on water and with its tubes deflated.
Among the group was a pregnant woman and fourteen unaccompanied minors.
"We immediately took in the most vulnerable cases: a pregnant woman in her fourth month and a diabetic boy," said a nurse from the rescue ship.
After the rescue was complete and the relevant authorities were informed, the city of Naples was assigned as the port to disembark.
Their arrival is scheduled for Monday morning.
The 87 rescued people came from countries affected by conflict and severe economic, political or social crises, including Sudan, Nigeria, Niger, South Sudan, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Mali, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Chad, Cameroon, Senegal and the Ivory Coast.
The rescue ship is manned by a crew of seafarers, doctors, mediators and rescuers and has been operating in the central Mediterranean since December 2022.
It has rescued a total of 1,631 people, during that time.