Aid ship carrying 64 refugees stranded in Mediterranean

By Busra Nur Bilgic </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – A humanitarian ship with 64 rescued migrants on board was stuck in Mediterranean and has been denied safe harbor, a German humanitarian group said.</p> <p>“The situation on board is difficult, rain has just started and a storm is coming. People have to sleep on deck and the boat is completely full. We have requested a port of safety everywhere but have not been allowed to enter anywhere yet,” Carlotta Weibl, spokeswoman for Sea-Eye, told Anadolu Agency. </p> <p>On Wednesday, the ship — named Alan Kurdi — belonging to the German humanitarian group, rescued 64 irregular migrants, including 12 women, one child and one infant off the Libyan coast. </p> <p>According to a statement by the Sea-Eye, Malta, Italy and Libya have denied accepting migrants to their lands.</p> <p>In a latest Twitter post, Sea-Eye said they are in a close contact with the German Federal Foreign Office. </p> <p>On Wednesday, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the German-flagged ship should go to Hamburg as it carries German staffers. </p> <p>&quot;Since the boat was unable to maneuver and would not be able to reach a safe place, we decided to evacuate the rubber boat immediately.&quot; Jan Ribbeck, head of operations at Sea-Eye, said. </p> <p>&quot;However, the ship is unsuitable to accommodate so many people, permanently,&quot; Ribbeck added. </p> <p>Another 50 migrants, including three children, are still missing off the Libyan coast since Monday night, Sea-Eye noted.</p> <p>More than 250 international non-governmental organizations — including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Sea Watch — wrote an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and asked for her support on refugee policy regulations of the European Union. </p> <p>The organizations listed three requests from Merkel; an emergency action plan for refugee boats, safe harbors for refugees and no return to Libya.</p> <p>Some 30,510 migrants died between 2014 and 2018 while making the treacherous journey to Europe, the UN agency reported early January.