World News | 4 Bodies Found off Tunisia in Apparent Migrant Boat Accident

Tunis, Dec 27 (AP) Tunisian authorities recovered the bodies of four people believed to be African migrants, including a pregnant woman, off the coast of Kerkennah Island in the Mediterranean, the regional prosecutor said Monday.

The bodies were handed over to the regional hospital in the city of Sfax, Prosecutor Faouzi Masmoudi told The Associated Press.

Also Read | Russia’s Sberbank Urges Glencore to Resolve Dispute over Oil Bill – Latest Tweet by Reuters.

They were found early Sunday and appeared to have drowned several days earlier, he said. Asked about online references to a newborn baby being among the dead, he said that only adult bodies were found.

Tunisian authorities believe the people set out from Tunisia or neighbouring Libya on a boat. The authorities are investigating what happened and seeking any information about other passengers.

Also Read | Australia Issues Travel Advisory for Pakistan, Urges Increased Caution and Vigilance After Blasts in Balochistan.

Thousands of people are believed to have crossed from Tunisia into Europe this year. Many are fleeing conflict or poverty elsewhere in Africa. But a growing number are Tunisians, young people or entire families whose country is struggling with a protracted and worsening economic crisis and political tension.

Many die on the dangerous journey. The International Organization for Migration's Missing Migrants Project estimates some 2,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, most on the central Mediterranean route that includes Tunisia. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)