Amsterdam will temporarily house at least 1,000 migrants on a cruise ship moored in its port under newly approved plans.

It comes as the Netherlands deals with an accommodation crisis that saw hundreds of asylum seekers sleeping outside a reception centre last week.

The vessel will remain moored in Amsterdam for at least six months.

The capital has become the second Dutch city to approve plans for putting migrants up on a cruise liner.

In both cases the ships will be moored, so residents can enter and exit at all times.

The cruise ship is not yet in Amsterdam, but should be in use from 1 October.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday that he was ashamed of the situation at the asylum reception centre in the remote north-eastern village of Ter Apel, where 700 migrants were forced to sleep outside in unsanitary conditions because there was no space for them inside.

Pakistan: UN appeals for $160m in emergency funding after deadly floods

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns Russia that Ukraine counterattack will ‘push them to the border’ – as nuclear inspectors finally head to Zaporizhzhia power plant

Ukraine live news: Russian official in Kherson tells locals ‘everything is fine’ – but his video shows he’s left for five-star hotel in Russia

The Dutch arm of Doctors Without Borders sent a team to the camp to provide medical assistance to the migrants, the first time the agency has ever deployed to the Netherlands.

“The situation in Ter Apel is heartbreaking. Together we must solve the shortage of accommodation so that refugees can find a place,” said Amsterdam alderman Rutger Groot Wassink.

Mr Groot Wassink described the cruise ship as a temporary short-term solution and said the Dutch government needed to work with municipalities to reform the country’s asylum system.

One reason behind the crisis is a nationwide housing shortage.

Once asylum seekers are granted refugee status, many are unable to find a place to live and have to stay in refugee centres, which were intended only as temporary accommodation for people awaiting decisions on their asylum applications.

The minister in charge of migration, Eric van der Burg, thanked Amsterdam, saying: “Temporary large-scale accommodation is very important to restore calm to asylum accommodation.”

Related posts:

Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted as gunmen attack nearby military site ‘Two weeks of hell’: Desperation in India as oxygen ‘the price of gold’ Moving video shows crew of sunken submarine singing farewell song Tokyo games could lead to emergence of ‘Olympic’ COVID variant, warns top medic Israel and Hamas to face investigation for possible war crimes following 11 days of fighting British cargo vessel blocked in French port as fishing rights row escalates Australia ex-captain to take ‘leave of absence’ from cricket after sexting scandal ‘Archbishop Tutu lit up the world’: Tributes paid at funeral for anti-apartheid hero As Russian forces move east, the people of Kramatorsk are getting out – but it’s not an easy task Dictator’s son wins back power in Philippines after family was forced into exile France hit by water restrictions as winter drought sparks fears over crop harvest Spain sacks spy chief after politicians’ mobile phones hacked and infected with spyware