Migrants land in Sicily after 'longest standoff in European maritime history'

Twenty-seven people stranded on Danish tanker for 38 days finally allowed to disembark

The odyssey of 27 migrants stranded onboard a tanker for 38 dayshas finally come to an end, as the passengers were finally allowed to disembark in Sicily in what has been described as the longest standoff in European maritime history".

On 5 August, the Danish tanker Maersk Etienne responded to requests from Maltese authorities to help an overcrowded boat in distress carrying 27 asylum seekers, including a pregnant woman and a child, about 70 nautical miles north of the Libyan coast.