'Better to be killed by the sea than the government,' says Iranian migrant rescued in Italy
The private rescue ship Ocean Viking, operated by humanitarian organization SOS Méditerranée docked in Taranto on Saturday, disembarking 75 migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan.
On Saturday (November 4), the private rescue ship Ocean Viking arrived in the southern Italian port of Taranto in Puglia with 75 migrants on board. The migrants had been rescued from a sailing boat on the Ionian sea, where they had been found drifting two days previously.
According to accounts from the migrants, the boat departed the Turkish city of Izmir, before heading for Italy.
The Italian center for the coordination of rescue operations at sea asked the Ocean Viking, which had been sailing from the port of Ravenna in northern Italy towards Siracusa, in Sicily, to rescue the boat in distress.
The survivors, including 23 women and 17 children, spent at least seven days at sea, finishing all water and food on the boat, the humanitarian organization said.
"It was a difficult rescue operation because the overcrowded sailboat 'rolled and pitched' in the dark," SOS Méditerranée Italia said in a note.
Operations to host the migrants were coordinated by the prefecture inTaranto, which operates under the directions of Italy's Interior Ministry.
The migrants were taken to the local first reception center for identification and then transferred to other centers.
Most of the passengers hailed from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, according to SOS Méditerranée.
A 19-year-old Iranian girl who was among the migrants rescued by the organization said she has "protested for the freedom of women in Iran. The government arrested me and I was sentenced to four years in jail and 75 lashes. Seven of my friends died during the protests."
The young woman told SOS Méditerranée, "I had to flee to save my life. I witnessed hell on the boat but I'd rather get killed by the sea than by the government."
