Two rubber boats, sailing in poor conditions in the Mediterranean Sea, were spotted in the morning of December 14 by a Spanish P3 Orion patrol aircraft deployed to Operation Sophia. The Slovenian corvette SNS Triglav 11, operating within Operation Sophia since October this year, was asked to intervene by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC).
The corvette took aboard persons from one the boats while the other was rescued by a civilian ship belonging to a non-governmental organisation.
At the end of the rescue 109 migrants were transferred on board the Triglav and then conveyed to the Bourbon Argos, a ship belonging to “Medicine Sans Frontiere” (Doctors Without Borders) that proceeded to the port of disembarkation.
Since the operation launch June 22, EUNAVFOR Med operation Sophia assets have been involved in 34 rescue operations saving nearly 7000 lives.