TUNISIA, Tunisia (AP) – About 20 African migrants were found dead on Thursday after their smuggled ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe, Tunisian authorities said. Five survivors have been rescued and the Tunisian navy is searching for up to twenty people who are still believed to be missing.
Tunisian Coast Guard boats and local fishermen found and recovered the bodies in the waters of the coastal city of Sfax in central Tunisia, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ben Zekri told The Associated Press.
According to survivors, the immigrant smuggling ship was carrying about 40 or 50 people bound for Italy, Ben Zekri said.
The ship was overloaded and in poor condition, and faced strong winds Thursday morning that could have contributed to the sinking, National Guard spokesman Ali Ayari said. He transported migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, he told AP.
Tunisian naval units were looking for more survivors.
Tunisian authorities say they have intercepted several migrant smuggling vessels recently, but that the number of attempts has been growing, especially between the Sfax region and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
More than 1,100 migrants have died or disappeared this year in the Mediterranean, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration.
Migrant smuggling vessels often leave the coast of Tunisia and neighboring Libya carrying people from all over Africa, including a growing number of Tunisians fleeing prolonged economic hardship. in his country.
Tunisians have formed the vast majority of migrants arriving in Italy this year, despite Rome’s efforts to negotiate with Tunis to end the crossings. Of the 34,001 migrants who had arrived in Italy so far this year, 12,847 were Tunisians, or 38%. The Bangladeshis were the next largest group, followed by those from Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Pakistan and Egypt.
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Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed.