Italian authorities on Thursday allocated a safe harbour to allow a German sea rescue vessel to bring hundreds of migrants picked up at sea to shore.
Some of the 344 migrants on the Sea-Watch 3 are exhausted and dehydrated, having been at sea for days, waiting for a port.
The charity that operates the boat said that vessel would be allowed to dock in Pozzallo, in Sicily.
“After exhausting days, finally a port of safety for the #SeaWatch3: Pozzallo. 344 rescued people can now go ashore,” the organization said in a tweet.
The vessel had picked up a large number of people in a series of rescue missions in recent days.
Migration is a sensitive issue in Italy, as many people fleeing war and poverty in North Africa seek to enter Europe by crossing the Mediterranean, a highly risky journey.
Right-wing politicians including former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini accuse charity rescue groups of cooperating with smugglers.
Salvini is due in court on Thursday on charges of defamation of the former Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete. She is not due to appear in Milan, she said. Salvini too is not planning to appear in court, his office said on Wednesday evening.
