Several migrants jumped into the sea from a Spanish rescue boat Sunday in a thwarted bid to reach shore in
Italy, where the government's hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has refused to let the 107 passengers disembark.
"We have been warning for days, desperation has its limits," said Open Arms founder Oscar Camps, who released a video showing four migrants wearing orange life vests swimming toward Lampedusa island.
In the evening, Open Arms urgently requested permission to enter Lampedusa's port so the migrants, aboard for 17 days, could finally get off.