At least 17 migrants perished in the sinking of four boats off the coast of central-eastern Tunisia, AFP learned on Sunday from judicial sources, according to which 97 people were rescued.
“The boats, makeshift boats in very poor condition, left the coast near Sfax on the night of April 22 to 23,” Mourad Turki, spokesman for the Sfax court, told AFP. investigate this shipwreck. “A woman was rushed to hospital but died in the ambulance, and among the victims there was also at least one baby,” the spokesperson added.
Reporting a provisional toll of 17 dead, including several corpses recovered from the sea, Mr. Turki said he feared that other bodies would be found in the days to come. Because according to the testimonies of the rescued migrants, “there were between 30 and 32 people on each of the boats”.
The majority of these migrants come from Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Somalia or Nigeria, according to the spokesperson, who fears other departures in the coming days “due to the improvement in weather conditions. “.
Hundreds of migrants, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, reach Tunisia with the aim of then reaching Europe, crossing the Mediterranean, most often piling up on makeshift boats. Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants from North Africa, who arrive mainly from Tunisia and Libya, two countries from which departures increased considerably in 2021. This year there, 15,671 migrants, including 584 women, managed to reach Italian soil from the Tunisian coasts compared to 12,883 (including 353 women) in 2020, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES). In total, more than 123,000 migrants landed in Italy in 2021, compared to some 95,000 the previous year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nearly 2,000 migrants were reported missing or drowned in the Mediterranean the same year compared to 1,401 in 2020, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
At least 17 migrants perished in the sinking of four boats off the coast of central-eastern Tunisia, AFP learned on Sunday from judicial sources, according to which 97 people might be rescued. in very poor condition, had left the coast near Sfax on the night of April 22 to 23,” Mourad Turki told AFP.
