Tunisia coast guard recovers eight bodies of migrants whose boat sank
Tunisian coast guard forces recovered the bodies of eight Tunisian migrants whose boat sank at the weekend en route to Italy, while the search continued for six others still missing, a National Guard spokesperson said on Sunday.
A Tunisian coast guard team has retrieved the remains of eight migrants whose vessel capsized off the country's shores over the weekend, as efforts to locate six others remain ongoing, according to a National Guard spokesperson on Sunday. A combined force of coast guard, military, and civil protection personnel, supplemented by two helicopters, persisted in the search for the missing migrants.
The overcrowded boat, carrying 15 individuals primarily young people, departed on Thursday, ultimately sinking off the Tunisian coast. To date, only one survivor has been rescued, stated the head of a migrant rights organization on Saturday. The group comprised seven family members and a man accompanied by his pregnant wife, according to Reuters.
The sole survivor recounted being adrift at sea for a grueling 48 hours before being rescued by a commercial ship. All migrants hailed from the Ben Guerdane region in southeastern Tunisia. Protests erupted in a nearby town on Saturday, demanding expedited search operations, which police quelled by deploying tear gas. The perilous central Mediterranean route, traversed by migrants from Africa and the Middle East in pursuit of a better life in Europe, is infamous for claiming numerous lives due to overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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