The Malta Independent: The Italian government is insisting that Malta takes in 629 migrants that were rescued near Libya on Sunday morning, saying that its ports were closed.
The migrants are currently on board the Gibraltar-registered ship Aquarius, but according to reports most of them had been saved by the Italian navy in the first place.
They were rescued in Libyan territorial waters, in an area that is closer to Tunis and Lampedusa than it is to Malta. The operation was coordinated by the Rome Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC).
Earlier a tweet by MSF said:
“After an extremely busy night on the Central #Mediterranean, the #Aquarius now has 629 people on board – including 123 unaccompanied minors, 11 children & 7 pregnant women – from six different operations. The #Aquarius is now heading North to a port of safety”
