Local authorities in Tunisia say that at least 27 refugees have died and are missing after two migrant boats sank off the eastern coast of this country.
Publish dateSunday 9 April 2023 - 12:24
Story Code : 268186
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): According to local authorities, the first boat with 37 passengers left Tunisia on Friday for Italy. According to the spokesperson of the Cefex Court, 20 people have disappeared and 17 people have been rescued due to the sinking of this boat.
According to the spokesperson of the court, also on Saturday, four bodies were found after the sinking of the second boat. Thirty-six others in the second boat were rescued and three were missing.
Fawzi Masmoudi says that these boats are made of iron sheets.
Since the beginning of March, there have been at least seven shipwrecks off the coast of Tunisia, leaving around 100 people dead or missing.
Parts of Tunisia's coastline are only about 150 kilometers from Lampedusa, an Italian island often used as a gateway to the mainland.
The country's proximity to Italy has seen Tunisia overtake Libya as the main departure point for people fleeing conflict and extreme poverty in the Middle East and Africa in search of a better life in Europe.
According to the Tunisian coast guard, in the first three months of this year, more than 14,000 migrants mostly from sub-Saharan Africa have been arrested trying to reach Europe from Tunisia. This figure is five times more than the same period last year.
"The 2023 figures have increased sharply because there are more departures," said Houssam Jababli, a spokesman for the Tunisian National Guard.
Migrants often pay large sums of money to be transported by people smugglers on unsafe ships.
Masmoodi, a spokesman for the Cefex court, said it was important to arrest the traffickers themselves. The aim, he said, was to "find the organizers of these crossings who forced them to board iron sheet boats, boats that by no means provide minimum safety conditions, but are cheaper to build than wooden boats."
According to the spokesperson of the court, also on Saturday, four bodies were found after the sinking of the second boat. Thirty-six others in the second boat were rescued and three were missing.
Fawzi Masmoudi says that these boats are made of iron sheets.
Since the beginning of March, there have been at least seven shipwrecks off the coast of Tunisia, leaving around 100 people dead or missing.
Parts of Tunisia's coastline are only about 150 kilometers from Lampedusa, an Italian island often used as a gateway to the mainland.
The country's proximity to Italy has seen Tunisia overtake Libya as the main departure point for people fleeing conflict and extreme poverty in the Middle East and Africa in search of a better life in Europe.
According to the Tunisian coast guard, in the first three months of this year, more than 14,000 migrants mostly from sub-Saharan Africa have been arrested trying to reach Europe from Tunisia. This figure is five times more than the same period last year.
"The 2023 figures have increased sharply because there are more departures," said Houssam Jababli, a spokesman for the Tunisian National Guard.
Migrants often pay large sums of money to be transported by people smugglers on unsafe ships.
Masmoodi, a spokesman for the Cefex court, said it was important to arrest the traffickers themselves. The aim, he said, was to "find the organizers of these crossings who forced them to board iron sheet boats, boats that by no means provide minimum safety conditions, but are cheaper to build than wooden boats."
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