In brief
Rescued migrants remained on an oil platform for days without food and water, raising alarms about ongoing Mediterranean crossings.
In a harrowing humanitarian incident, 32 migrants were rescued from a British Gas-operated oil platform in the Mediterranean after spending several days stranded with limited access to food and water. The non-governmental organization (NGO) Mediterranea reported that among the group, one individual had tragically died during their ordeal. On Tuesday afternoon, NGO Sea Watch successfully completed the rescue, but their ship, the Aurora, remained without a port of safety as no nearby country had yet agreed to provide refuge for the rescued individuals.Despite being in international waters near the search and rescue zones of Tunisia and Malta, European countries did not respond to the urgent calls for assistance, creating a sense of desperation among the stranded migrants. The alarming situation was initially brought to light when the Seabird, an aircraft operated by NGOs, spotted an unoccupied dinghy near the oil rig on March 1. The migrants eventually managed to reach out for help through the Alarm Phone, a hotline dedicated to aiding those in distress at sea, reporting severe deprivation and a critical health situation.In a distressing video shared on social media, a young Ethiopian man on the oil platform described their dire circumstances in Tigrinya, stating they had departed Libya five days ago and had been shipwrecked after their dinghy capsized. He warned that without prompt intervention, survival seemed increasingly unlikely. The sea voyage had already claimed the life of one person, and others were battling the elements, suffering from cold and starvation. The United Nations has reported that in 2023 alone, over 210,000 individuals attempted the perilous Central Mediterranean crossing, with numerous lives lost and many intercepted and returned to Africa.
