search and rescue operations sar

• France
• United Kingdom

British and French campaigners are warning about the dangers of migrant Channel crossings after an Iranian woman who reportedly fell into the water while trying to reach England went missing last Saturday. It could be the first case of a migrant death in the Channel, a relatively narrow strait with strong currents. But according to testimonies of survivors and community activists, several people have already disappeared.

• Italy

The private migrant rescue boat Open Arms is headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa with 147 rescued migrants on board. The green light came after a judge in Rome suspended Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's decree banning NGO vessels from Italy's territorial waters.

• Italy

American actor Richard Gere visited the Spanish NGO ship Open Arms on Friday to express solidarity with the rescued migrants who have been stranded on the boat for days.

• Italy
• Libya
• Malta

After the fourth rescue in four days, NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking now has over 350 migrants on board waiting for a safe harbor - but the vessel is only equipped to carry 200 to 250 people. Italy and Malta continue to deny entry into their ports.

• Libya
• Spain

Three migrants have been evacuated from the rescue vessel Open Arms for medical reasons. More than 150 others remain on board after being rescued 11 days ago by the Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms. Another rescue vessel, the Ocean Viking, is also stranded in the Mediterranean after picking up 251 migrants. Italy and Malta continue to deny entry into their ports.

• Libya

The Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. German NGO Sea-Watch has operated reconnaissance flights as part of its mission to prevent deaths on the high seas.

• Italy
• Libya
• Malta

Private rescue missions are increasingly facing rejection by ports in Italy and now Malta. One particular vessel, the Ocean Viking, is now prepared for all emergencies on board because of this — including pregnancies and births.

• Germany
• Italy
• Libya

As a result of new amendments to Italy’s security decree, fines up to one million euros could be imposed on private rescue organizations who attempt to disembark rescued migrants in Italy or defy refusals to enter Italian waters. The latest amendments were passed into law by Italy’s upper house, the Senate, on Monday, August 5.

• France
• Italy
• Libya

The Ocean Viking, a new rescue vessel run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), is on its way to the search and rescue (SAR) zone off Libya. The announcement comes eight months after the two charities were forced to cease operations.

• Spain

Two private migrant rescue boats - Spanish Open Arms and German Alan Kurdi - are waiting in vain for a safe harbor in the Mediterranean with 163 migrants on board. Some people need quick help: One of two pregnant women aboard the Open Arms has gone into labor. Meanwhile, the situation in the Mediterranean is becoming more confusing.

• Greece
• Turkey

According to the Greek coast guard, its own patrol boats and EU border agency Frontex on Wednesday spotted nearly 120 people trying to reach Greece from Turkey on motorized rubber dinghies and wooden boats. Close to 20,000 migrants are currently staying in overcrowded camps on Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea.

• Germany
• Italy
• Libya

The private rescue vessel "Alan Kurdi," run by the private search-and-rescue charity Sea-Eye, confirmed that it would not enter Italian territorial waters after picking up 40 migrants at sea yesterday. The rescued migrants reportedly hail from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Congo and Cameroon.