As many as 439 migrants rescued at sea disembarked from a 'Doctors Without Borders' ship in Sicily on Friday as the humanitarian boat they were in was given safe harbour at the Port of Augusta in the province of Syracuse.

The migrants can be seen exiting the ship and entering the port. One volunteer for Doctors Without Borders commented: "We gave thanks for the safe harbour, but the harbour should arrive on the first day of the rescue and not be the final stage of a rescue."

The boat had been at sea for nine days before it was allowed to come into port.

The migrants on board were rescued from six different operations between January 19 and 21 and mostly come from Eritrea, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The boat was holding 13 women and 112 minors, most of them unaccompanied.

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SOT, Juan, Doctors Without Borders volunteer (Italian): "Nine days have passed since the first aid at sea and we immediately asked for an amount and finally today it arrived. There will be a very long boat, we will probably finish tomorrow so we still have a long night ahead."

SOT, Juan, Doctors Without Borders volunteer (Italian): "Virtually a quarter of the people on board are minors or 110 out of 439 people. They are of different nationalities and large groups from different countries also create tensions. Last night was the most difficult and with precarious balances."

SOT, Juan, Doctors Without Borders volunteer (Italian): "We gave thanks for the safe harbor, but the (allowing safe) harbor should arrive on the first day of the rescue and not be the final stage of a rescue."

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