MADRID:- An NGO ship which rescued 87 migrants off Libya has been given the green light to dock in the southern Spanish port of Algeciras on Thursday, the charity said, after Italy refused them entry. The migrants, nearly all from Sudan including Darfur, had spent 50 hours at sea on board an inflatable boat, without drinking water, and many suffered burns from a mixture of fuel and salt water before they were rescued on August 2. After patrolling the waters off Libya for days looking for a port that would accept it, the ship belonging to the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms was finally allowed to come dock in Spain.–AFP

It will arrive on Thursday morning in Algeciras, across the bay from Gibraltar, an NGO spokeswoman told AFP.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had tweeted "anywhere but not Italy" when the ship was looking for a port, repeating the new government's hardline policy closing the country to migrant rescue ships.

Spain once again stepped in even as it has overtaken Italy as the main destination for migrants this year due to a crackdown by Libyan authorities and Rome's hardline approach.