Abandoned Ship Carrying 450 Migrants Left Adrift Off Italian Coast

The Italian coastguard boarded the ship on Friday morning, after it was left without a crew in rough seas overnight.













A ship carrying 450 migrants was left drifting in rough seas without power or a crew overnight on Thursday, the BBC reported.



The Blue Sky M cargo ship, carrying an estimated 900 migrants, is seen in harbor in southern Italy on Dec. 31. The ship was the first of two large migrant vessels abandoned near Italy this week.


Stringer/Italy / Reuters














On Friday morning, the Italian coast guard had gained control of the ship after it was boarded by a rescue team. It is now on route to the southern Italian port of Crotone.

CNN reported that the ship came to a standstill 58 miles (93 kilometers) off Crotone's coast overnight.

































Commander Filippo Marini of the Italian coast guard said that the vessel was being towed by an Icelandic ship, which is part of the European Union's Frontex border control mission, the BBC reported.

The Icelandic ship involved in the operation, the Tyr, has been involved in four similar operations since it was deployed to the area in early December, the BBC's Jonathan Joseph said.

Marini said most of the migrants appeared to be Syrian, and included pregnant women and children.

The Ezadeen is the second migrant ship to be left abandoned and drifting in the waters of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas this week, after the Blue Sky M was set on autopilot and left by its crew while carry up to 1,000 migrants on Wednesday.







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