11 Dead, Three Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Tunisia

Eleven bodies have been recovered by Tunisia’s coastguard after a boat carrying migrants sank off the country’s coast while heading towards Italy.

Tunisia’s National Guard said on Sunday that three people remained missing, while coastguard, military and civil protection teams continued search operations with the support of two helicopters.

The boat departed early Thursday carrying 15 mostly young people. Only one person has so far been rescued alive. The survivor reportedly spent about 48 hours adrift at sea before being picked up by a commercial vessel.

According to Tunisian human rights officials, seven members of the same family were among those on board, along with a man travelling with his pregnant wife. All the migrants were from Ben Guerdane in southeastern Tunisia, near the Libyan border.

The tragedy prompted dozens of young people to gather in Ben Guerdane on Saturday to demand faster search operations. Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

The central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Europe remains one of the world’s deadliest migration routes, with migrants frequently attempting the journey in overcrowded or unsafe boats.

Human rights and humanitarian organisations have also criticised the European Union’s migration cooperation with Tunisia, alleging that it has contributed to abuses against migrants and asylum seekers.

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