Over 1,000 migrants brough ashore by Siem Pilot

Siem PilotSiem Pilot.Photo:Kripos / NTB scanpix

The Norwegian ship Siem Pilot has in the last few days been involved in eight rescues and  put 1,038 migrants ashore at the Italian city of Palermo on Thursday.

This is the largest number people that have ever been on board the ship ,  the unit leader in NCIS ,Torgeir Brenden, informs .
– There is a lot of activity in the area and Siem Pilot was asked to transfer migrants from other ships of the operation so that they could empty the boats and continue the rescue efforts, he said.
According to the unit leader  the rescue work was made even more challenging by the aggressive smuggling boats.
– We experienced several aggressive boats filled with smugglers who tried to get back the boats that migrants were rescued from. We must prioritize rescue, but will bring  reports and images to the Italian authorities for further follow-up, says Brenden.
The migrants included 195 children, 793 men and 50 women. Based on what the immigrants themselves stated, they are from 26 different countries.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today