1,000 migrants rescued, 9 drown, off LibyaHorrific scenes unfolded in the Mediterranean today as a full-to-capacity rescue ship was forced to sail away from desperate migrants trying to swim towards the rescuers. At least 8,000 migrants have been saved off the coast of Libya this week alone. We were in the process of transferring 1,000 migrants from the Okyroe (tanker) to the Siem Pilot when suddenly, in the dark, rubber boats appeared. Several of those who were rescued fainted during the operation and had to be dragged aboard the Siem Pilot. The Siem Pilot team faced not just the extreme danger of the sea rescues, but also had to contend with confrontational people traffickers.

Source: Libya Today October 22, 2016 19:18 UTC