ROME, Italy: A German civilian group has rescued nearly 50 migrants stranded on an abandoned oil platform in the central Mediterranean, the organisation said on Thursday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
A vessel operated by the RESQSHIP organisation discovered 47 people who had been stranded for hours on the Didon oil rig, located in Libya’s search and rescue zone, on Tuesday evening, the group said in a statement.
The crew were able to get all the people safely on board after they had been stranded on the platform for about 10 hours, RESQSHIP said.
A speedboat operated by Libya’s coastguard arrived during the operations but did not disrupt it, according to the organisation.
Following the operations at the oil rig, the RESQSHIP crew were called to another incident in Tunisian waters, rescuing a further 43 people from two unseaworthy vessels after coordinating with Tunisian authorities, according to the group.
All 90 people rescued that night – including a pregnant woman, minors, two toddlers and a baby – have since been brought “to the nearest place of safety, Lampedusa”, it said.
RESQSHIP board member, Lina von Dobschütz, said the start of this year has been the “deadliest since records began” for migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to reach the European Union.
“The fact that we had to provide assistance on three consecutive missions tonight only serves to highlight just how urgently our work is needed along the refugee route,” she was quoted as saying.
Italy is one of the main arrival points for migrants within the bloc due to its proximity to the African coast.
According to UN data, 1,126 people died or went missing last year on that route, though the real number is believed to be much higher. – BERNAMA-dpa
