France is to open its southern port of Toulon to a charity-operated ship carrying hundreds of asylum seekers rescued from the central Mediterranean, saying it is an “exceptional” move and criticising Italy’s new far-right government for its “incomprehensible” refusal to help the vessel.
The Ocean Viking rescue ship, operated by the European charity SOS Méditerranée under a Norwegian flag, and whose 234 passengers include 57 children, is facing deteriorating sanitary conditions after Italy refused to give it a safe port for more than two weeks despite its presence in Italian waters.
