Death of 14 migrants on the coast of Tunisia
Disclosure: Thursday, April 25, 2024, 10:57 AM
14 migrants have been killed in a boat sinking off the coast of Tunisia. The bodies of 14 migrants have been found off the coast of the southern Tunisian island of Djerba in the past few days.
On Wednesday (April 24), the news agency AFP reported this information about a local official.
Tunisia and Libya have become popular routes for migrants to cross to Europe in recent years. Many are crossing the dangerous Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe, especially from various African countries.
Fethy Bakkouche, a public prosecutor in Tunisia’s Medenine, told AFP that bodies had been being recovered off the coast of Djerba island since last Friday. So far 14 bodies have been recovered.
Most of the dead are believed to be from sub-Saharan African countries. Fethi Bakkuche said, one of them was Egyptian. His identity was identified from the passport he was carrying.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tunisian authorities said they had found the bodies of 22 migrants. These bodies were floating on the coast for several days.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of the death of at least five migrants, including children, while trying to reach the UK through the English Channel from the French coast. The incident of boat sinking is believed to have happened last Monday night.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IMO), about 2,498 people died or went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2023. This number is 75 percent higher than the previous year.
/MA/
