SABAHI
Friday, October 18, 2013
A US warship has rescued 128 Somali migrants
from an inflatable raft that was threatening to capsize in rough seas in
the Mediterranean Sea after a request from Malta, officials said
Thursday (October 17th).
The USS San Antonio was called to action Wednesday after a Maltese military aircraft spotted the dinghy.
"We successfully transferred 128 men between the ages of 20 and 30
from an inflatable raft on the San Antonio," a US Navy official in Italy
told AFP.
"The raft was being rocked by winds and seas and we had expected that
overnight the seas would increase. If they were to be left out to sea
they would probably be in the water right now," he said. "We provided
food, water, medical attention and temporary shelter."
The Maltese military said the migrants were from Somalia and were
transferred onto two patrol boats and were being taken to Malta.
More than 400 asylum seekers have drowned this month in two separate boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea.