After spending several days without food or water on a British Gas-managed oil platform in the Mediterranean, thirty-two migrants were rescued by the NGO Sea Watch. Despite the critical nature of their situation, European countries did not intervene, leading to calls for urgent action in response to the ongoing migrant crisis.
Migrants Rescued After Prolonged Ordeal on Oil Platform in Mediterranean
Migrants Rescued After Prolonged Ordeal on Oil Platform in Mediterranean
Thirty-two stranded migrants were rescued by NGOs after several harrowing days on an oil platform near Tunisia, amid increasing concerns for their safety.
Thirty-two migrants attempting to reach Europe were rescued from a British Gas-managed oil platform in the Mediterranean after enduring several harrowing days stranded at sea. The NGO Mediterranea, which provided details of the situation, reported that the group included "women, men, and children," many of whom faced dire conditions without food and water. Unfortunately, one individual was confirmed dead during their time on the platform, exacerbating an already critical situation.
The rescue operation was conducted on Tuesday afternoon by NGO Sea Watch, although the final destination for the rescued individuals aboard the Aurora remains uncertain as no nearby country has yet designated a port of safety. The NGO pointed out that not a single European nation intervened "despite the imminent emergency," noting the migrants found themselves in international waters amid the Tunisian and Maltese search and rescue zones.
The chain of events leading to the rescue began on March 1, when an NGO monitoring aircraft, Seabird, spotted an empty rubber dinghy near the oil platform. The stranded migrants managed to reach an emergency hotline known as Alarm Phone, where they reported their situation, having been devoid of food for days, with their health rapidly deteriorating. In recordings shared on social media, a young man could be heard saying that they were "suffering from hunger and dying of cold," recounting their perilous journey that began five days earlier in Libya.
The migrants' plight is indicative of a broader crisis; according to UN data, over 210,000 individuals attempted to cross the Central Mediterranean in 2023, with more than 60,000 intercepted and sent back to African shores, and nearly 2,000 tragically losing their lives at sea. As such, the rescue operation has reignited discussions about the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, urging for urgent systematic changes to ensure their safety.
