Horrific scenes unfolded in the Mediterranean off libya as a full-to-capacity rescue ship was forced to sail away from desperate migrants trying to swim towards the rescuers.
During a dramatic 24 hours, the crew of the Norwegian Siem Pilot and another aid boat rescued panicked migrants in the dark, with only limited resources and in the face of aggressive people smugglers.
Around 2,400 migrants were rescued and 14 dead bodies pulled from the water yesterday, according to the Italian coastguard.
“I’ve never had a SAR (search and rescue) like this. We were in the process of transferring 1,000 migrants from the Okyroe (tanker) to the Siem Pilot when suddenly, in the dark, rubber boats appeared. It looked hopeless,” said Pal Erik Teigen, the police officer in charge of the rescue operation. Migrants aboard one of the rubber boats that had yet to be rescued desperately sought to reach the rescue ship, which by that point was full to capacity and unable to take on more passengers, motoring towards it while crying out for help.