MILAN -- An Italian prosecutor on Tuesday ordered the seizure of a rescue ship and the immediate evacuation of more than 80 migrants still aboard after 15 people jumped overboard in a desperate bid to escape deteriorating conditions on the vessel and Spain dispatched a naval ship to try to resolve the crisis.
The order to seize the Open Arms, anchored off Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa, came after Sicilian Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio boarded the ship and met with port authorities as part of an investigation into possible kidnapping charges resulting from the refusal of hard-line Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to allow the migrants to get off the Spanish humanitarian ship, the news agency ANSA reported.
"Finally, the nightmare ends and 83 people on board will receive immediate assistance on land," Open Arms said on Twitter.
Salvini refused to open Italian ports, even after six countries stepped forward to take the migrants and despite a fissure in Italy's imploding governing coalition that expanded in recent days to include his handling of the crisis.
Salvini, who staved off previous investigations resulting from other migrant standoffs when the Senate refused to lift his immunity, tweeted he wasn't worried about the prospect of criminal charges.
"I am not afraid, I am proud to defend the borders and security of my country," Salvini wrote.
Earlier Tuesday, Spain's caretaker Socialist government sent a navy ship to escort the Open Arms back to a Spanish port after at least 15 of the migrants jumped into the sea within view of Lampedusa, desperate to flee overcrowded and deteriorating conditions on the vessel 19 days after they were rescued off Libya. Those who jumped overboard were eventually picked up by Italian ships.
Until the action by the Italian prosecutor, the Spanish move was the first concrete signal promising an end to the humanitarian crisis involving the Open Arms, even if it added at least a week to the ordeal for the remaining 83 migrants aboard.
The migrants on the Open Arms were close to Lampedusa but forbidden by Salvini to disembark. The captain had previously told Italian authorities the crew of 17 was no longer able to maintain control, and they described the situation as "desperate."
After one Syrian national jumped and was rescued and brought to shore on Lampedusa, two more groups followed his lead. They were likewise ferried to land and spared a return to the ship, where officials say psychological and hygienic conditions have deteriorated markedly.
Video showed people in life vests floating in the sea, some in groups and some individually, with a coast guard vessel nearby and rubber dinghies maneuvering to pluck them to safety.
Dozens more have been evacuated in recent days for medical reasons or because they are minors. Officials said tensions on board were running high, with fights breaking out among the migrants.
Spain said it would take three days for its navy ship, the Audaz, to reach Lampedusa from the Spanish port of Rota, and it wasn't immediately clear how long it would take to escort the smaller rescue vessel to the Spanish island of Mallorca, where it is set to dock in Palma de Mallorca.
Emilio Damia Marques, the commander of the Audaz, told Spanish public broadcaster TVE from Rota that his ship, carrying 62 people including a doctor, expected to arrive at the Italian island by Friday.
The Open Arms sailed within a few hundred yards of Lampedusa last week after Salvini's ban on private rescue boats entering Italy's waters was overturned by a court. Salvini has appealed the ruling and warned that his ban on docking still held.
A Section on 08/21/2019