A CHARITY refugee rescue ship saved the lives of over 140 people in the central Mediterranean within Malta’s search-and-rescue (SAR) zone this weekend.

The Open Arms, an NGO rescue ship operated by the Spanish charity of the same name, picked up 40 people — including a three-month-old baby — on Friday night after the Star went to press.

Then on Saturday the ship was alerted to another boat carrying around 106 people within Malta’s SAR zone again.