Migrants Rescued After Jumping From Stranded Rescue Ship Off Lampedusa

Several migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean on Tuesday, August 20, after jumping from a rescue ship that was stranded off Lampedusa after being denied entry by Malta and Italy, according to the ship’s operator, the NGO Proactiva Open Arms.

This footage shows several people in the water off the Italian island of Lampedusa in the south Mediterranean.

The Open Arms rescue vessel has been embroiled in a stand-off with Italian authorities since August 5 as it sought permission to dock.

On August 5, the Italian government won a vote on a decree drawn up by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini that raised the maximum fine for ships that enter Italian waters without authorization to €1 million, and which provided for the arrest of sea captains who ignored warnings to stay away.

Earlier in the year, on June 29, the captain of migrant rescue ship Sea Watch 3, Carola Rackete, was arrested on the Italian island of Lampedusa after she defied a ban to bring her ship into Italian waters. Credit: Open Arms via Storyful