Dozens of migrants seek refuge on the Mediterranean oil platform Migration News

Rescuers say 65-70 people were on a Shell oil rig while they were “all night”.

About 70 migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean have taken refuge on an oil rig before being handed over to Tunisian authorities, energy giant Shell and a rescue organization have reported.

Lifeboat Louise Michel on Tuesday reported rescuing 31 people while drifting from a wooden boat in bad weather as “another 65-70 people climbed on the Shell oil platform overnight.”

Tunisia’s Shell confirmed on Monday that a number of unspecified migrants had arrived at the Miskar platform, 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Tunisian coast, at 8pm (7pm GMT) on Monday.

“They helped the migrants and provided them with water, food and dry clothes,” the company said, adding that it had informed Tunisian authorities.

He added: “Since the migrants were taken to the Tunisian Navy, on January 4, 2022, at around 14:00, it is around Tunis time.”

Louise Michel is a 30-foot-tall (98-foot) former French Army ship decorated by the elusive British artist Banksy, one of her patrons.

It is one of several rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean, with thousands of immigrants. Try to get to Europe annually, in ships that are often leaked and flooded.

It is not uncommon for some drifting to seek refuge on coastal oil rigs, although operators have warned that it could be dangerous.

Last year, more than 115,000 people arrived by sea in Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Malta, and about 1,800 were killed or disappeared, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).