MORE INFORMATION
The Spanish fishing delivery to Malta the migrants rescued by The Spanish fishing announces return to Santa Pola with the migrants on board
Spain will host at least 11 of the 12 rescued on Thursday of last week by the Spanish fishing Our Mother Loreto, off the coast of Libya. After ten days locked in the middle of the Mediterranean, without a safe harbor to go, Malta finally accepted to this Sunday their landing, but the spokesman for the maltese Government, Kurt Farrugia, warned Reuters that it was a temporary solution for “humanitarian reasons”. The treatment should include the twelfth rescued that had already been evacuated to Malta last Friday because of health problems.
According to Farrugia, the rescued will be taken to Spain once they receive medical care and recover. “Malta was not obliged to accept them because they were not picked up in maltese waters, and Malta was not the closest port”, continued the spokesperson. The information has been confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior and of National Security maltese, Michael Farrugia, in his Twitter account. The Vice president of the Government, questioned on this matter on Oslobet Sunday morning, has not wanted to inform about the conditions of the negotiation and the possible acceptance Spanish.
Malta refused until the last moment to open their ports, but in the end gave in. After midnight on the Sunday, Our Mother Loreto received indications of Salvage to go to the island country. The delivery of the 11 migrants or even has occurred in a port, but a boat has gone to look for them 13 miles from the coast, where waiting for a fishing boat.
The authorization of Malta arrived a few hours after the pattern of the fishing boat, Pascual Durá, decided to return to Spain and heedless of the instructions of the president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, urged to observe international law and to go to the port more safe and close, in allusion to Libya, a country in which auction and torture of migrants.
Rescue frustrated
Our Mother Loreto was cruising in neutral in the area of search and rescue libya since Thursday last week when he witnessed a rescue thwarted by a patrol of libya around 80 nautical miles from the coast. An inflatable boat full of people trying to flee from the coast guard and three from migrants climbed to the gunwale of the fishing boat, while the other eight took to the water and were picked up by fishermen.
From the first moment, the Spanish Government indicated that the boat was meant to be heading to Libya, expressing that this would be a safe harbour, being the closest. The reading of the Government triggered many contrary reactions, such as the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), which flatly rejected the appropriateness of Libya for the disembarkation of migrants.
