Icelandic sailor missing in Sicily

An Icelandic crew member of a Norwegian rescue ship has disappeared without trace in Sicily, Italy.

Benjamín Ólafsson, 23, lives in Haugesund, Norway and was last seen at 3:30am last Sunday night in the Sicilian city of Catania, where the ship he works on – Norwegian rescue ship Siem Pi­lot – is currently docked.

Italian police, together with representatives of the Norwegian police present on the Siem Pi­lot, have launched a land and sea search operation to find Ólafsson.

Ólafsson’s ship is currently working for Frontex, the external border agency of the European Union (EU), and has saved some 6,500 refugees since June.