TUNIS: Tunisia’s coast guard recovered the bodies of nine people following the sinking of their boat on Thursday, marking another tragic incident for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.
The coast guard also rescued 45 people from the vessel after it began taking on water approximately six kilometers off the coast of Zarzis, a common departure point near Tunisia’s border with Libya.
Coast guard spokesman Houssameddine Jbabli stated that the boat, carrying passengers from outside Tunisia, likely departed from Libya. Survivors were subsequently transported to a local hospital in Tunisia.
Just weeks prior, a large boat carrying an estimated 54 Tunisians, presumably attempting to migrate to Europe, disappeared at sea, prompting protests from relatives in the city of El Hancha. These relatives have demanded information and government action in response to the increasing number of Tunisian youths missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
Migrants’ rights groups, including the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), have criticized the government for not doing enough to save the lives of those at sea. FTDES representative Romdhane Ben Amor stated that authorities have prioritized preventing migrants from reaching Italy, a broader geopolitical issue that has long affected relations between North Africa and Europe.
Ben Amor’s organization reported this week that a record 1,313 migrants died at sea off the Tunisian coast in 2023, underscoring the country’s role as the primary departure point for migrants seeking to cross the sea to Europe.
According to FTDES, more than 80,000 migrants were intercepted at sea in 2023, a figure more than double that of the previous year. This includes a growing number of both Tunisians and sub-Saharan Africans from countries such as Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sudan, according to UN data.
