‘Eight  people die in the Mediterranean per day’

Sea-Watch International has announced that its rescue vessel, Sea-Watch 5, has returned to operations in the central Mediterranean after what it described as an attack by Libyan militias in May, saying it has already rescued 52 people in two separate operations.

In a post published on its verified X account, @seawatch_intl, the humanitarian organisation said 40 people were rescued on the first day of operations, followed by another 12 the next day. It added that one of the survivors, a pregnant woman, requires urgent medical care.

Sea-Watch also claimed that an average of eight people die every day while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, renewing its criticism of European migration policies and rescue coordination.

The organisation accused the Italian government of assigning its rescue vessel to the northern port of Marina di Carrara, which it said is more than four days away from the rescue zone. According to Sea-Watch, the practice keeps humanitarian rescue ships away from areas where migrants are most at risk.

“To ensure that as few rescue ships as possible are in the rescue area, Italy sends us to the northern port Marina di Carrara, 4+ days away,” the group wrote, describing the decision as “cruel and irresponsible.”

Sea-Watch argued that the lengthy journey delays the disembarkation of rescued migrants and reduces the number of rescue vessels available to respond to emergencies at sea.

The organisation also directly criticised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the country’s migration policies, questioning the government’s approach to search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

Italian authorities have previously defended the assignment of distant ports to humanitarian vessels, saying the measure is part of efforts to manage migrant arrivals and coordinate disembarkation procedures.