Our rescue ship brings more than 300 to safety

By Yara Rodrigues Fowler

Today our search-and-rescue ship, the Vos Hestia, completed its first life-saving mission – bringing more than 300 people to the safe port of Trapani, Sicily.

The 372 we helped save include pregnant women, 50 unaccompanied children and three babies.

Our ship responded to a call for help from the Italian Coast Guard. On Saturday afternoon, we transferred people from an overcrowded rescue ship in the Central Mediterranean onto the Vos Hestia.

Nine months pregnant

Among the adults on board, one woman is more than nine months pregnant.

She was treated by our doctor on the ship and was taken to a hospital after reaching port.

According to the Italian Coast Guard, more than 2,000 people were rescued in the Mediterranean over the course of the weekend.

Unaccompanied children

More than 50 children on board have told our staff that they are travelling alone.

Many of them told us how they were sent by their families in a desperate bid to escape a life of war, persecution or extreme poverty.

Sadly, this doesn’t surprise us. More than 90% of children making the journey to Italy are alone. So we’ll have experts on board to give them emotional support and practical help.

Safe haven for children

On board our ship children always come first. We give them emergency medical treatment, food, water and clothes. And we have a safe space for children to rest, play and recover.

Once in Italy, our teams – who’ve been working on the refugee crisis for 8 years – will make sure the most vulnerable children get specialist help.

Why we’ve launched a life-saving ship

More than 3,000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean this year. But that’s just an estimate – because children’s tiny bodies are rarely recovered, quickly disappearing below the waves.

The number of children trying to cross to Italy has increased by two thirds compared to last year.

No child should face a terrifying journey like this.

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Overall, we aim to help 20,000 people at risk of drowning over the next 15 months.

But we need your support to keep the ship running and save thousands of lives.