Two new members of the Operation Sophia taskforce, German Navy ships Datteln und Werra, saved 701 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea on July 5.

German Navy minehunter Datteln was the first to spot migrants 100 kilometers northwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Moments later, the tender Werra spotted four rubber boats five kilometers away. Upon receiving orders by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (I.M.R.C.C.) in Rome the two ships proceeded to rescue the migrants.

Datteln pulled 45 people from a wooden boat while Werra embarked a total of 520 people from four rubber boats.

The tender subsequently embarked further 136 migrants from MV Astral, another ship taking part in life saving efforts in the Mediterranean. This meant the tender had 656 migrants on its deck which had to be brought to the Sicilian port of Augusta where they would be handed over to authorities.

The migrants’ boats were sunk as they were rendered as an obstacle at sea.