ROME – As many as 400 migrants have been rescued by Médecins Sans Frontières after battling over 12 hours of "very dangerous conditions" in the Maltese search and rescue area (SAR), officials said. 

 The Geo Barents, a ship belonging to Médecins Sans Frontières, spotted the boat carrying 500 shipwrecked people and got as close as possible to the vessel. However, an initial report from the NGO Alarm Phone, who ensure the safety of refugees at sea, said that due to the adverse weather conditions, "rescue is not possible at this time without compromising the safety of the migrants as well as that of the rescuers."

 However, as the conditions improved throughout the day, two small life boats from the Geo Barents went into the water to distribute life jackets. Operations continued into Tuesday evening and the early hours of Wednesday morning. Médecins Sans Frontières have said that they have so far rescued 400 of the 500 migrants on board "but the rescue operations have been slowed by strong gusts of wind."

 This rescue comes after Alarm Phone issued an SOS call alerting authorities to the boat that was in distress. 

 “They report very dangerous conditions,” the NGO said, “with strong 27-knot winds and high waves. We fear for their lives.”

  Before the rescue, The NGO  “repeatedly” contacted the National Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome in attempts to rescue the boat, but were told to contact Maltese authorities. 

 "In our last call to Rome we were advised to address the Maltese authorities as those responsible. We call on all authorities to assume their responsibilities. They must be rescued without delay.”

  This SOS call comes at the same time as the rescue of 32 migrants who were left stranded on the isle of Lampione.  The migrants, including four women and a child, were stranded on the island for two days in a seven-metre boat that had set sail from Tunisia before being rescued in the Italian coast guard's Nemo 8 helicopter. 

 The Ocean Viking, a ship belonging to SOS Mediterranee, another NGO, docked in the port of Salerno on Tuesday morning having rescued 92 migrants in recent days off the coast of Libya. The Salerno Prefecture has experience with rescuing refugees but has said this particular ongoing rescue is expected to be more complicated due to adverse weather conditions. 

 In this context, Meloni called a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss Italy's ongoing migrant crisis. 

 cw