Two bodies were recovered and seven people rescued after a boat carrying dozens of would-be migrants went down off the Tunisian coast on Sunday, the National Guard said.
“A boat carrying illegal migrants was shipwrecked off Sfax... two bodies, of a woman and a baby, were found, and seven people were rescued,” spokesman Housemeddine Jebabli told AFP.
According to initial estimates, 30 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were on board the vessel, Jebabli said, adding that a search was underway for those missing.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
He did not indicate where they had departed from.
The number of would-be migrants attempting to cross to Europe from Tunisia sharply from a peak in 2011.
But it began rising again in 2017, driven partly by economic woes and inequality in the North African country, almost a decade after a revolution that many hoped would bring change.
The interior ministry said Sunday it had stopped 32 attempts to cross the Mediterranean and arrested 262 people between the start of the year and mid-September. Two people were from sub-Saharan Africa.
Over the same period, 8,581 people were intercepted while trying to reach Europe by sea from Tunisia, the ministry said. They included 2,104 foreigners.
Read more:
Coronavirus: Tunisian unemployment soars as economy suffers under COVID-19
Tunisia’s coastguards pick up 246 migrants at sea in a single night
-
More than 1,000 migrants arrive in Spanish Islands in past 48 hours: Red Cross
More than a thousand illegal African migrants have landed in the Spanish Canary Islands in the last 48 hours, an influx not seen in at least 10 years, ... World News -
Libya militia holds hostage over 60 migrants, including children: Report
A Libyan militia affiliated with the UN-recognized Government of National Accord is holding hostage at least 60 migrants, including two dozen children ... North Africa -
Coronavirus measures leave almost 3 mln migrants stranded: UN
More than 2.7 million migrants wishing to return home have become stranded abroad because of the coronavirus pandemic, the UN said on Friday, urging ... Coronavirus