Premature twins in hospital after rescue from boat off Libya

In this frame grab taken Monday, Aug. 29, 2016 from video, 5-day-old twins from Eritrea, who were born prematurely in Libya, are seen after being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by members of two NGO's and the Italian navy. The two Eritrean babies are being treated at a hospital in Palermo after being rescued at sea along with thousands of other migrants. (AP Photo)

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Two Eritrean baby boys born prematurely, who were rescued at sea along with thousands of other migrants, were being treated at a hospital in Palermo on Wednesday.

Antonia Zemp, a medical coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, which took part in the rescue on Monday, said the babies were 5 days old when their mother boarded a boat with them in Libya, in a desperate bid to reach a better life in Europe.

The tiny infants, bundled in towels and with a white bonnet covering the head of one, were rescued off the Libyan coast by the aid group Proactivia Open Arms. That group handed them over to a larger rescue ship belonging to Doctors Without Borders, which had them evacuated first to Lampedusa by boat and from there to Palermo, Sicily, by helicopter.

Zemp said the babies were born a month early and that one was vomiting, had hypothermia and was non-responsive.

"After a first triage, our medical team decided to request an evacuation due to the fact that his health was so fragile that he would not have survived the long journey to Italy in our boat," Zemp said.

Doctors Without Borders said the infants were in intensive care. The mother, Tesfamamrim Merhawit, 26, was also recovering in the Palermo hospital.

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