Migrant rescue vessel Alan Kurdi rescues 65 migrants off the Libyan coast

The migrant rescue vessel Alan Kurdi has rescued 65 migrants from a rubber dinghy on Friday, 63km off the Libyan coast.

In a statement, Sea-Eye, which operates the ship, said the migrants were taken on board the vessel and were being examined and treated by a team of three doctors. "So far, only minor injuries have been reported to the head of mission."

"The dinghy was supplied with sufficient fuel. However, there was neither a GPS-enabled telephone nor other navigation aids in the possession of the rescued migrants," Sea-Eye said in a statement. 

The group said it attempted to make contact with the Libyan authorities, however, according to the charity, they were not responding. They added that rescue control centres in Tripoli, Rome, Valletta and Bremen have been informed. 

"The people on board this rubber dinghy were incredibly lucky. The chance to be tracked down with binoculars in the morning hours was negligible. Without a GPS-enabled telephone or basic nautical knowledge, these young people would probably not have reached a place of safety and would have disappeared," the head of the mission on the Alan Kurdi, Gorden Isler said. 

On Thursday, Malta had agreed to receive 55 migrants recused off the coast of Tunisia by another NGO vessel. The ship sailed towards Lampedusa but Malta reached an agreement with Italy to take the migrants in on condition that Italy accept to take 55 migrants currently in Malta.

The latest incident comes on the back of a boat carrying migrants to Europe that capsized off the Tunisian coast on Wednesday, leaving scores dead. The vessel was sailing from Libya towards Italy.

Five people were rescued and brought to Zaris in Tunisia by the Tunisian coast guard, however, one of the survivors died while being treated in hospital.