Six migrants trying to reach Europe illegally drowned today and 30 others are missing after the sinking of a makeshift boat they were in off Tunisia, according to authorities and the Red Crescent.
Thirty-four other migrants were rescued by navy and coast guard units after the boat carrying them sank off Zarzis in southeastern Tunisia, Mohamed Zecri, a spokesman for the Tunisian defence ministry, told Agence France-Presse.
According to testimonies of the rescued migrants, the boat was carrying 70 people, including 15 Egyptians, three Sudanese and a Moroccan, who left Libya to try to reach Europe illegally, Zecri added.
Searches are continuing to locate the 30 missing people, according to the same source.
The survivors will be taken to the El Ketef port in the Ben Guerdane region, Monzi Slim, head of the Red Crescent in the Medenine region (south), told Agence France-Presse.
Italy is one of the main entry points to Europe for migrants from North Africa, mainly Tunisia and Libya, from where departures are rising sharply compared to previous years.
Nearly 55,000 migrants have landed in Italy between the beginning of the year and the beginning of November, compared to just under 30.000 in 2020, according to official figures from the Italian authorities.
[/P]According to statistics from the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, in the first nine months of 2021, the Tunisian coast guard intercepted around 19.500 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Nearly 1,300 migrants have been registered as missing or drowned in the Mediterranean and nearly 52,000 reached Italian shores in the same period, according to UNHCR statistics.
Source: Cyprus Times
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