European SOS Mediterranee, the maritime-humanitarian organization for the rescue of life in the Mediterranean, saved a group of migrants from a vessel in distress late Friday.

The crew of the Ocean Viking took almost 60 people on board from an overcrowded wooden boat in the Maltese search-and-rescue zone during their fifth mission within 36 hours, the organization said early Saturday.

Among those rescued was a baby aged only a few weeks. According to SOS Mediterranee, there are currently almost 270 migrants on board the Ocean Viking.

Most of the people set off from the coasts of North Africa, for example from Libya or Tunisia, to reach the European Union via the Mediterranean.

Private aid organizations regularly come to the area to rescue people at sea.

Italian authorities – often after a protracted wait – then allow the migrants to disembark on the small island of Lampedusa, Sicily, or the southern mainland.

Italy's right-wing parties have declared in the current election campaign that they want to stop migrant arrivals.