Grueling experience aboard rescue ship Aquarius

VALENCIA, Spain - Photojournalist Oscar Corral, who arrived on Sunday at the eastern Spanish port of Valencia along with more than 600 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, said he had experienced the most intense week of his life.

"I would say it's been the most intense week of my life," the Spaniard said after spending eight days on the humanitarian rescue vessel Aquarius that rescued 629 people, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, off the coast of Libya.

The Aquarius became stuck off the coast of Sicily on June 9 as Italy's new government asserted its anti-immigrant policy and refused to let the rescue ship dock. Italy then asked Malta to receive them, but Malta also refused.