Thirty-two migrants who had been stranded on a Tunisian offshore gas platform for several days were finally rescued on Tuesday, a non-governmental organisation said.
“Nobody went to save them, so we went,” the Sea-Watch Italy rescue group stated on social media.
According to the organisation, the migrants had been left without help for four days on the Miskar platform before their rescue.
Earlier, Tunisian rights groups had issued a joint statement urging authorities to intervene, reporting that the migrants had gone without food for days and were in a very critical condition. One death had already been reported.
The platform was said to be in international waters and within the Maltese search-and-rescue zone, according to the groups.
Alarm Phone, a European NGO that operates a migrant distress hotline, accused both Tunisian and European authorities of failing to act.
“Tunisia’s coastguard failed to rescue them, and European authorities refused to intervene,” the group said.
Tunisian officials did not respond to requests for comment.
It remains unclear how the migrants, believed to have set sail from Libya, ended up on the platform. They were first spotted there on Saturday, according to Alarm Phone and Sea-Watch.
The organisations said Tunisian authorities initially promised to rescue them on Sunday, but two days later, they were still stranded.
Tunisia and neighbouring Libya are key departure points for migrants—many from other African nations—who embark on dangerous Mediterranean crossings in hopes of reaching Europe.
Italy, whose Lampedusa island is just 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Tunisia, is often their first destination.
