World News | At Least 24 Migrants Die in Waters off Tunisia over 2 Days
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. At least 24 migrants trying to make their way to Europe died over two days when their fragile, overloaded boats sank, the prosecutor's office of the coastal port city of Sfax said Saturday.
Tunis, Apr 8 (AP) At least 24 migrants trying to make their way to Europe died over two days when their fragile, overloaded boats sank, the prosecutor's office of the coastal port city of Sfax said Saturday.
The Tunisian Coast Guard pulled the bodies of four sub-Saharan migrants from the waters off the coast of Sfax on Saturday, while 36 migrants were saved and three others were missing, according to Faouzi Masmoudi, spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Sfax.
Also Read | Toshakhana Case: Lahore High Court to Hear Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s Plea on April 12.
A day earlier, 20 sub-Saharan migrants drowned when their boat went under about 35 miles (about 56 kilometers) from Sfax, and 17 others, including three children, were saved, Masmoudi said.
He added that two of the survivors pulled from the water were reported in critical condition.
Also Read | Iranian Authorities to Use Cameras in Public Places to Identify Women Who Violate Hijab Law.
The numbers of migrants launching from Tunisian coastal waters and aiming to reach the shores of Italy have skyrocketed this year.
The Coast Guard intercepted numerous other boats loaded with migrants on Friday and Saturday, Masmoudi said.
According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, 132 migrants have died or disappeared in the first three months of this year while trying to reach Europe, reflecting the numbers of attempted and successful crossings.
Nearly two weeks ago, the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of 29 migrants in several boat sinkings.
The prosecutor's office in Sfax, one of the main regions for migrants to launch their perilous expeditions, is trying to find those who provide desperate migrants with small unseaworthy vessels to make voyages onward to Europe.
People fleeing conflict or poverty routinely take boats from Tunisian shores toward Europe, even though the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Many migrants are from sub-Saharan Africa. (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)