Italy's Salvini dismisses fears for health of stranded migrants

Spanish migrant rescue ship Open Arms is seen arriving close to the Italian shore as a Rome administrative court rules it can enter Italian territorial waters, in Lampedusa, Italy August 16, 2019. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) - A charity rescue ship carrying 134 migrants, mostly Africans, was stranded off the coast of Italy on Friday as a political battle in Rome stopped it from docking and even the medical conditions of those on board were disputed.

The migrants, picked up off Libya over the last two weeks, are waiting to disembark on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, but far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has ordered his officials not to let them do so.