Ten migrants die after a boat sinks off the coast of Tunisia

12 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

At least ten migrants have died due to the sinking of their boat off the coast of the Tunisian city of Sfax, located in the east of the country, as confirmed by the authorities of the African country on Wednesday.

The Tunisian Ministry of the Interior has detailed in a statement published on its website that the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of ten migrants off the coast of Sfax on Tuesday and added that another 76 people were rescued in the area.

Thus, he pointed out that four of those rescued were of Tunisian nationality, while “the rest had nationality from sub-Saharan African countries.” The Ministry has stated that the authorities will adopt “the necessary measures” regarding the status of these people.

On the other hand, it has confirmed the arrest of thirteen people who planned to embark on journeys through the Mediterranean Sea to try to reach European coasts and has indicated that two of them “organized irregular migration operations”.

Tunisia has become in recent years one of the main departure points for boats with which migrants from the country and those arriving from sub-Saharan Africa attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) states on its website that so far this year more than 570 people have died or have been reported missing when trying to cross the Mediterranean, a figure that in 2022 rose to nearly 2,400, the highest since 2017.

The IOM itself has highlighted this Wednesday that the central route of the Mediterranean Sea in the first quarter of the year at least 441 deaths, making it the deadliest period in this area since 2017. Since 2014, the area accumulates more than 20,000 fatalities.