Lampedusa: In a desperate attempt to reach the coast of Lampedusa, migrants on Tuesday jumped off the Spanish humanitarian rescue ship Open Arms.
An Italian coast guard rescue boat and a police dinghy attempted to bring them in.
The humanitarian group Open Arms said that migrants have jumped into the sea "desperately trying to reach the coast of Lampedusa", the Italian island only a few hundred yards (meters) away.
It was not clear whether they would be brought to shore or returned to the ship.
The Open Arms captain previously informed Italian authorities that the crew of 17 could no longer control the tense situation on board the humanitarian ship.
The standoff with Italy is in its 19th day, as Italy's hard-line Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to allow the Spanish ship access to a safe port even though other European nations have offered to take the migrants.
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