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Men, women and children rescued by an NGO vessel off Libya's coast have told the ship's crew they were tortured, enslaved and kidnapped in the North African country they escaped.
The Alan Kurdi is carrying 64 people it rescued last Wednesday and remains stranded in international waters outside Malta, with its crew warning that food shortages and bad weather are taking their toll.
The ship turned towards Malta on Saturday after Italy’s coast guard refused it entry to Lampedusa.
The vessel, which is operated by NGO Sea-Eye, rescued 64 people from a rubber boat on Wednesday April 3.
“Food and water supplies will run out shortly and the medical situation can deteriorate quickly once the storm sets in tonight,” warned Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl on Sunday.
Rescued migrants outnumber the ship's carrying capacity and many are sleeping on deck, she added.
A Maltese government spokesman had told Times of Malta on Saturday that they were monitoring the situation.
'In Libya, they sell us blacks as slaves'
People rescued by the Alan Kurdi have told crew members they were tortured, raped and enslaved while in Libya.
One woman told the crew that she was trafficked and forced...