At least 27 people died, dozens rescued after two shipwrecks near Tunis Migration news
All the victims and those who were rescued were from sub-Saharan African countries, says the director of civil protection in Sfax.
At least 27 people, including women and children, have died and 83 others have been rescued after two ships capsized near Tunisia, the country’s National Guard said.
The ships sank in the waters off the city of Sfax, a departure point often used by illegal migrants and refugees who want to travel to Europe.
The two makeshift boats set sail “on the night of December 31 to January 1,” a Tunisian National Guard official told AFP on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
The National Guard, which oversees the Tunisian coast guard, said a baby was among the dead.
All the victims and those who were rescued were from sub-Saharan African countries, Ziad al-Sidiri, director of civil protection in Sfax, said in a press release on Thursday.
Al-Sidiri added that the 15 survivors were taken to the hospital to receive first aid, while the bodies of the dead were handed over to the Tunisian Coast Guard, which will take them to the local forensic department.
The search for the remaining missing persons on board is still ongoing.
Last month, the Tunisian coastguard recovered the bodies of around 30 other people in two separate incidents after their boat sank while they were sailing towards Europe.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) also noted that “between 600 and 700” people were killed or missing in shipwrecks off Tunis in 2024, compared to more than 1,300 in 2023.
The maritime migration route between Africa and Europe is one of the most dangerous in the world, with nearly 24,500 people missing or dying in the central Mediterranean since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Most of these deaths occurred on ships that set sail from Libya and Tunisia.
In recent years, Tunisia has replaced Libya as the main departure point for Tunisians and people from other parts of the world seeking a better life in Europe.
The European Union has embarked on migration and development agreement with Tunisia 2023 worth 255 million euros ($262 million) aimed at strengthening Tunisia’s capacity to prevent ships from leaving its shores. The agreement led to an increase in the number of interceptions of ships in the waters of that North African country.
Human rights bodies and rescue missions in the Mediterranean have condemned agreement and asked how they would protect the vulnerable.
In October 2024, the EU ombudsman said that the European Commission had not published “any information” regarding the risks it had identified before the agreement was signed.
“It is also impossible to overlook, in this context, the deeply disturbing reports that continue to appear about the human rights situation in Tunisia, especially when it comes to the treatment of migrants,” said the Ombudsman.
