A nine-month pregnant woman was
evacuated from the Ocean Viking migrant rescue ship by
helicopter to Malta, the NGO said Wednesday.
The woman was evacuated along with her husband "after she
developed severe medical complications," the NGOs running the
ship said.
The woman was rescued on September 8.
The NGOs said it was a precautionary move given the
complications that might arise with a birth on board.
The ship has veered north to approach a position where the
woman can be taken by helicopter to a hospital on Malta.
The Ocean Viking is run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and
SOS Mediterranée.
The NGOs are seeking a safe port in Malta or Italy to offload
their 84 migrants.
"We have newly requested a place of safety for a rapid
disembarkation of the 82 remaining migrants," said the NGOs.
The Ocean Viking migrant-rescue
ship with 84 migrants on board "needs to enter, no ifs or buts,"
Democratic Party (PD) leader and Lazio Governor Nicola
Zingaretti said in an interview to private television La7 aired
late on Tuesday, when asked if the ship should be allowed to
dock in Italy.
The Ocean Viking, operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
and SOS Mediterranée, has requested a safe port in Italy to
disembark the migrants.
The new Italian government formed by the PD and the
anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) has indicated it may
break with the previous cabinet's policy of closing ports to
NGO-run rescue ships.
New European Parliament President David Sassoli said the
Ocean Viking "must dock".
He said "do they think they can solve the problem of
immigration by keeping at sea 100, 200, 300 people?"
"We need an immigration policy", said the PD member.
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