Doctors Without Borders rescue 48 migrants from Mediterranean 

Rome, Feb. 14, (dpa/GNA) - The private aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has rescued 48 migrants from a boat in distress in the central Mediterranean. 

Nine children were among those rescued, the organization said on Monday. 

According to the statement, the people were travelling on a wooden boat and were taken on board the Geo Barents in international waters near the Libyan coast. 

A short time later, the Italian authorities assigned the ship the city of Ancona on the Adriatic coast as a port of call, according to MSF. 

The ship’s crew criticized the fact that they had once again been assigned a location far from their current position – the crossing to Ancona is expected to take five days. 

At the end of January the organization rescued more than 230 Mediterranean migrants, and was assigned the port of La Spezia on Italy’s north-west coast. 

In December, the Italian government passed a decree to severely restrict the operations of civilian sea rescuers in the central Mediterranean. 

The respective organizations have to curtail the mission after their first rescue and head for a port assigned to them by the authorities. 

Most of the time, these are distant ports that require a long journey. Normally, the ships carry out several rescues per mission. Aid workers sharply criticize the decree. 

GNA