The ship’s captain had earlier headed towards the Sicilian port of Pozzallo, declaring an emergency due to bad weather and sparking a new standoff between rescuers and Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, just as he looks set to lose his job.
Salvini signed a decree last week banning the Eleonore from entering Italian waters as part of his closed-door policy on migrants arriving by boat from Africa.
“The people who were aboard the Eleonore for eight days now land in Pozzallo,” a journalist onboard the ship said in a tweet, posting a photo of the migrants coming ashore.
“They are first searched by the police and then handed over to the Red Cross.”
The ship’s captain, Claus-Peter Reisch, had earlier said he had decided to enter Italian waters and seek shelter, in defiance of the authorities.
“After eight days of waiting for a safe harbour, after countless attempts to convince states to care for 104 people, tonight the weather has decided,” he tweeted.
“I need to declare the Eleonore a case of emergency due to the life-threatening situation on board.”
Photos of the ship posted on social media showed migrants huddling on the deck under the rain.
