Italian authorities have ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue ship Aquarius after claiming that discarded clothes worn by the migrants on their voyage from Libya to Italy could have been contaminated by HIV, meningitis and tuberculosis, The Guardian reported.
Italy orders seizure of migrant rescue ship
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 21, ARTSAKHPRESS: Prosecutors from Catania, eastern Sicily, alleged that the waste was illegally labelled by the ship’s crew as “special waste” rather than “toxic waste”.
The Aquarius is currently docked in Marseilles, France, where so far it is beyond the reach of the Italian authorities.
A total of 24 tonnes of discarded material – including leftover food and medical materials as well as clothes – was being investigated.