Migrant rescue NGO saves 25 people off Libyan coast

French migrant rescue group SOS Mediterranee brought 25 people stranded off the Libyan coast aboard its Ocean Viking vessel on Sunday, the NGO said.

Those rescued, including three women and seven minors, are “currently being cared for by the Red Cross and SOS Mediterranee teams” aboard the Ocean Viking, the Marseille-based group said in a statement.

Five of the minors are unaccompanied while two of the children are aged under four, the statement added.

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The boat in distress was spotted thanks to an alert issued by Alarm Phone, a number used by migrants who run into trouble while attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing in hope of a better life in Europe.

Since the beginning of 2025, 247 people have disappeared or died in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

That toll follows the 2,360 people who died across the whole of 2024. The vast majority of the victims died in the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.