Cruise ship turns back to assist migrant boat off Sardinia
Italian police responded after a cruise ship spotted a small vessel in distress during a Barcelona-to-Rome voyage.
Footage filmed on August 16 reportedly shows an Italian police boat approaching a small vessel carrying about 10 migrants in the Mediterranean off Sardinia. The boat had been spotted in distress by a cruise ship carrying British passengers from Barcelona to Rome.
According to an announcement described by passengers, the cruise ship’s captain said the vessel had a maritime duty of care and turned back to assist. A passenger said some of the migrants appeared to wave toward the cruise ship before Italian authorities arrived.
The footage appears to show the migrants being transferred to the Italian police vessel as their boat sank.