For five days, 34 people stood up to a violent border regime and fought for their fundamental right to freedom of movement. They were rescued in the Maltese search and rescue region by the Maridive 703, an offshore supply vessel servicing the oil and gas industry, but were then deliberately abandoned by so-called ‘safe’ states. They were left at sea to endure days of political neglect and institutional cruelty while resisting an illegal pullback by the Tunisian coast guard.
Throughout these days of confrontation and survival, their resistance was not isolated. Civil society mobilised, raised the alarm, and applied pressure, exposing the hypocrisy and brutality of European border policies that allow people to drift at sea as a deterrent.
After five days of struggle and collective resistance, the border regime lost the fight. The SOS Méditerranée ship Ocean Viking finally rescued the group and brought them to safety. This rescue was not an act of charity; it was a victory wrested from a system designed to exhaust, punish and make people disappear.
26/12/2025
15:05 AlarmPhone informs the Italian and Maltese authorities about a group in distress at sea near the Miskar oil platform. Shortly afterwards, the 34-people group, including three children and three women, are taken on board the MV Maridive 703. The rescue took place in the Maltese Search and Rescue Region (SRR), meaning that Malta and Europe are legally responsible for disembarking the group in a place of safety. The group also explicitly states that they want to be brought to Europe.
15:20 Shortly after, the rescue ship Solidaire requests authorization from the Italian MRCC to divert from their current course and bring the survivors to a Place of Safety.
27/12/2025
20:08 Alarmphone receives the information that the Tunisian Coast Guard came to the Maridive ship to pull back the people towards Tunisia (which is not a safe country). The pullback failed, allegedly because of bad weather.
28/12/2025
10:26 AlarmPhone sends another email to urge the authorities to let the people disembark in Europe, as their safety cannot be guaranteed in Tunisia. In the following hours, AlarmPhone calls several times the Italian and Maltese authorities but no-one assumes responsibility.
18:48 AlarmPhone receives information that some people are in a critical health situation.
22:22 Alarmphone tweets to urge Malta to act.
29/12/2025
17:17 AlarmPhone sends another email to authorities, urging them to take the people to Europe.
30/12/2025
09:45 Alarmphone sends an email update to authorities after learning about a second boat that was stranded close to the Miskar platform. Alarm phone later learnt that, contrary to our first information, this second group of people was not rescued by the Maridive, but was intercepted and pulled-back by the Tunisian coastguard.
12:20 Alarmphone sends an email update to authorities after learning that two people have died since they got rescued by the Maridive.
16:30 The NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking informs authorities of their ability to perform a rescue and asks for rescue coordination by the responsible RCC.
16:39 The NGO Solidaire sends another email to urge authorities to act.
31/12/2025
Ocean Viking finally completes the transshipment of the people and proceeds to bring the group back to a safe port of disembarkation. Alarm phone learnt at that moment, from survivors, that the group of survivors actively resisted the pullback from Tunisian coastguard.
In the end the group consisted of only 33 people: Alarm phone does not know whether this discrepancy with our first information of 34 people, is due to a disappeared person or to wrong information.
