At Least 34 Migrants Missing After Fifth Boat Sinks off Tunisia in Two Days

25/3/2023 7:05

        At least 34 African migrants were missing on Friday after their boat sank off Tunisia, the fifth shipwreck in two days, raising the total number of missing
        to 67 amid a sharp increase in boats heading towards Italy, Tunisian officials said.
        
        The Italian coast guard said on Thursday it had rescued about 750 migrants in two separate operations off the southern Italian coastline, hours after at least five people died and 33 were missing in an attempted sea crossing from Tunisia.
        
        Tunisian Judge Faouzi Masmoudi told Reuters that seven people had died in the boat capsizes off the coast of the city of Sfax, including babies and children.
        
        Houssem Jebabli, an official at the National Guard, said the Coast Guard had stopped 56 boats heading for Italy in two days and detained more than 3,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries.
        
        According to U.N. data, at least 12,000 migrants who have reached Italy this year set sail from Tunisia, compared with 1,300 in the same period of 2022. Previously, Libya was the main launch pad for migrants from the region.