A CIVILIAN rescue ship that was kept at sea for five days finally began disembarking over 200 refugees in Italy today, following the dramatic evacuation of a child last night.

The Open Arms rescue ship saved the lives of 219 people in 24 hours at the weekend in waters that Malta is legally responsible for conducting search-and-rescue operations in.

Despite there being 56 children on board (17 of whom were under 10 years old), neither the Maltese nor Italian maritime authorities would authorise the ship to dock in any port.