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Cargo ship with 450 migrants heading towards Italy

January 2, 2015

A cargo ship carrying 450 migrants has lost power on its way to the Italian coast. The Italian air force has sent a helicopter carrying officers to take control of the ship and doctors to tend to the passengers.

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Italien Gallipoli Ankunft Migranten auf Frachter Blue Sky M 31.12.2014
The Blue Sky M, carrying more than 700 migrants, was brought into port on WednesdayImage: Reuters

The Italian air force said late Thursday that it had sent a helicopter to help the Ezadeen, a Sierra Leone-flagged ship, which was carrying around 450 migrants and was headed toward the Italian coast.

The Italian coast guard, Guardia Costiera, confirmed the number on Twitter.

Filippo Marini, a spokesman for the coast guard, said that a migrant had called for help earlier in the day, saying "we're without crew, we're heading toward the Italian coast and we have no one to steer." The individual told the coast guard that the ship had been abandoned by its crew.

Officers and doctors were sent in the helicopter to regain control of the vessel and help the passengers. "Because of the difficult weather conditions the ship can only be boarded from the air," the air force said in a statement.

Before losing control, the Ezadeen had been moving at a brisk speed of seven knots and was spotted by a coast guard plane shortly after nightfall.

The Italian authorities have asked for help from Iceland's patrol boat Tyr, which was on a mission in the area for Frontex, the European Union's border agency. Three doctors from the Tyr were to be sent to the Ezadeen to help passengers who were ill.

The latest episode of a migrant ship comes two days after Italian sailors intercepted a Moldovan-flagged freighter carrying more than 700 migrants, mostly from Syria. The ship came within five miles of disaster before navy officers boarded and brought things under control.

mg/cmk (AP, AFP)

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