75 migrants missing after shipwreck off Tunisian coast

Around 75 people are missing off the coast of Tunisia after the shipwreck of the boat in which they were traveling from Zuara (Libya).

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
25 May 2022 Wednesday 04:38
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75 migrants missing after shipwreck off Tunisian coast

Around 75 people are missing off the coast of Tunisia after the shipwreck of the boat in which they were traveling from Zuara (Libya). As detailed by the World Organization for Migration (IMO), a search operation is underway that is taking place in front of the coastal city of Sfax. So far, 30 people have been rescued.

This Tuesday the Libyan navy found four bodies aboard a boat during an interception of migrants in the central Mediterranean, along with thirteen survivors, Syrians and Egyptians.

Libya has become a transit country for thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East across the Mediterranean to reach European shores.

According to IOM data from last year, 32,425 people, including 1,309 minors, were rescued or intercepted, 655 people died and another 897 went missing en route to Europe from Libya and Tunisia.

At least 6,340 migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya so far in 2022, including 273 minors, another 129 people drowned and 459 disappeared on this migratory route of precarious boats, controlled by mafias in Tunisia and Libya.