Dramatic rescue on the high seas. Over a hundred migrants on an oil platform

More than a hundred African illegal migrants saved themselves from drowning by reaching the Miskara oil platform, located over 120 km from the coast of Tunisia, on pontoons. They were helped by the ship of the humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee, which landed the migrants on the Italian shore.

The survivors – including 39 minors and 13 women – tried to reach the shores of Europe on small rubber dinghies. After two days of sailing on the high seas, storm waves flooded the pontoons. The survivors evacuated to a natural gas platform located on the course, the Infomarine portal reported on Wednesday. They spent four days there under the care of employees.

SOS Mediterranee in a statement said it regretted that although many Mediterranean countries had been informed of the survivors, none had sent help. The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) became interested in the migrants and called on European governments to help migrants and enable them to safely disembark.

The Italian government responded to the appeals and agreed to accept illegal migrants, even though the platform is located in Tunisia's territorial waters and it is hundreds of kilometers away from Italy. Two days ago, the Ocean Viking, a ship belonging to SOS Mediterranee, had landed them safely on the Italian shore.

The Miskar platform is located in Tunisia and belongs to the British BG Group, currently part of Royal Dutch Shell. (PAP)

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