Migrants on Ocean Viking are allowed to land in Italy

Ocean Viking. (AP Photo/Renata Brito)

82 people on the Norwegian rescue ship Ocean Viking are allowed to land in Italy, according to the relief organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The 82 people rescued in the Mediterranean will soon be landed on Lampedusa, the organisation wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning.

Italian authorities have long denied Ocean Viking and other rescue vessels to permission call Italian ports. The country got a new government last week, and now the Italian Interior Ministry has allowed Ocean Viking to put people ashore on the island of Lampedusa.

It is being considered whether the ship will be allowed to go to port or whether the persons on board will be transported ashore by boats belonging to the Italian coastguard, according to ANSA news agency.

Ocean Viking sails with the Norwegian flag and is operated by MSF and the organisation SOS Méditerranée. A heavily pregnant woman was evacuated from the ship a few days ago.

Last month, MSF and SOS Méditerranée rescued 356 people, including more than 100 minors, from sinking boats off the coast of Libya. They eventually landed in Malta.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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