Armed bandits interrupt rescue of migrants in Mediterranean off Libya

Rescue personnel help transfer the passengers from a wooden migrant boat (Charles Thiefaine/SOS Mediterranee via AP)

An aid group that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean says one of its missions was interrupted by armed bandits who boarded the overloaded smugglers’ boat and sped away with it after the migrants threw themselves into the sea.

SOS Mediterranee filmed the incident on Tuesday. The group said it occurred about 46 nautical miles north of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast, a frequent launching point for smuggling operations to bring migrants to Europe.