After a week of crew preparation and training, the sailing vessel Safira set sail from the port of Lampedusa for Mission 20 of Mediterranea Saving Humans.

Last night, the sailing vessel Safira rescued 77 people in life-threatening conditions in international waters.
The individuals, fleeing Libya, were aboard a rubber boat that had departed three days earlier from Zuara, drifting due to engine failure and on the verge of sinking in the Maltese SAR zone, 36 miles south of Lampedusa.
The rescue was made possible thanks to an alert from Alarm Phone.
After our attempts to communicate with Malta received no response, we requested support and assistance from the Italian authorities, who assigned Lampedusa as the Port of Safety for disembarkation.

The 79 people (not 77, as initially reported) rescued last night by Safira were transferred at the entrance to the port of Lampedusa onto Coast Guard vessel CP322 and safely disembarked on the island.