On Monday, the SOS Mediterranean-chartered NGO ship found a fiberglass sailboat in the waters between Malta and Italy. After three days at sea, the passengers—all Bangladeshi migrants—suffered hypothermia and dehydration.

When the crew of the Ocean Viking first noticed a small fiberglass boat in the waves, it was dark. They saw a bunch of maybe thirty people crowded together on board.

One of the crew, Giannis, called out: "We’re here to help you!"

Hours earlier, at 4 am on Monday (May 20), the crew had first sprung into action. The Ocean Viking had learned that a group of migrants had contacted the hotline Alarm Phone saying they were in distress.

Witnessing the events that followed, a journalist from the AFP news agency reports hearing the crackly call to action -- "SAR Team, Ready for Rescue!" as it was relayed across walkie-talkies around the ship.

In a semi-rigid boat launched from the main Ocean Viking ship, and using a flashlight, the team spotted the migrants and was able to pull alongside them.

The men were barefoot, their clothes soaked and their eyes red, according to the AFP journalist. They were trembling as they grabbed the rescuers’ arms and life jackets.

Ten minutes later, they were brought to safety on the Ocean Viking.

Men fled Libya

The 35 rescued men – all Bangladeshi nationals – said they had been sailing for three days, having set out from Benghazi in northern Libya, a distance of nearly 600 kilometers.

Hoping to reach the Italian island of Sicily, the group of men are the latest among approximately 10,000 people rescued by the Ocean Viking in the Mediterranean since 2019, according to SOS Mediterranee.

Medical staff on board the ship identified three men needing immediate attention. One unconscious young man was wrapped in a survival blanket. Some people were suffering from dehydration and hypothermia, SOS Mediterranee wrote on X.

At around dawn the men were able to have a shower and put on fresh clothes. They were given a food kit including water, dried fruit and two meals to heat up, AFP reports.

"The priority is to ensure that they feel good, that they know that they are safe onboard and we will not bring them back to Libya," said Sara Mancinelli, operations manager with SOS Mediterranee’s partner on the Ocean Viking, IFRC.

"Often, they ask us: 'Are you going to bring us back to Libya?' They don't immediately identify who we are, they are under shock," AFP quoted Mancinelli as saying.

Ocean Viking directed to distant Italian port

In a container on deck, another IFRC crew member, Sana, explained to the men how they would be dealt with, one man translating from English to Bangla for the others. According to AFP, many soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, even though the rescue had taken place closer to Malta and Sicily, the Ocean Viking was instructed to head for Ortona, a port on Italy's Adriatic coast.

Under a policy introduced by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, NGO ships are required to go straight to the designated port immediately after a single rescue.

SOS Mediterranee said Tuesday that the journey to Ortona would take more than two days.

Bangladeshis are among the top nationalities to make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe. But Italy has designated Bangladesh, along with 21 other countries, as a "safe country of origin," which means that claims for asylum are fast-tracked and very few, with the exception of minors, will be granted protection.

If the migrants ultimately have to return to Bangladesh, for now they have escaped much worse dangers, safe from the threat of being sent back to Libya or dying at sea.