A rescue mission by the aid group SOS Mediterranee in the Mediterranean was disrupted by armed bandits who seized a smuggler's boat after migrants jumped into the sea. The incident highlighted the increasing dangers faced by rescue operations due to fewer resources provided by governments.

An aid group rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean had a mission interrupted by armed bandits who commandeered the overloaded smugglers' boat after migrants threw themselves into the sea.

SOS Mediterranee filmed the dramatic event on Tuesday, 46 nautical miles north of Zuwara on Libya's western coast—a known hub for smuggling operations headed for Europe.

Video footage shows SOS Mediterranee's volunteers transferring 93 passengers from a wooden boat to their rescue vessel when two rubber dinghies approached. A masked bandit leapt aboard, causing panic among the remaining migrants, who jumped into the sea. The bandit then took control of the empty boat and sped away as SOS Mediterranee's crew rescued the people in the water.

The group's general director, Valeria Taurino, stressed that governments are providing fewer resources for rescue missions, forcing aid groups to operate under increasingly dangerous conditions.

Italian authorities contend that the presence of humanitarian rescue ships encourages risky migrant voyages, a charge denied by rescue groups. Recent statistics show a decline in migrant arrivals by boat in Italy, while the right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni stands firm on tough measures to curb migration.

(Disclaimer: With inputs from agencies.)