The 83 migrants rescued at sea 19 days ago were allowed to disembark from the Open Arms rescue ship in the Italian island of Lampedusa in the early hours of Wednesday after a Sicilian prosecutor ordered the ship to be seized and its passengers evacuated, reports say.
Footage shows activists cheering as the ship docked at Lampedusa port and the migrants disembarked, received medical attention and left the port in vans.
The Open Arms spent six days anchored off the coast of Lampedusa, as the Italian government led chiefly by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini had refused docking permission for the ship since Thursday, causing several migrants to attempt to reach the island by swimming, while some were allowed off the ship for medical reasons.
The Open Arms vessel had been waiting for 19 days to be able to disembark in a safe port after rescuing the 83 migrants from the Mediterranean.
The change came less than a day after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced his resignation.