Key facts
- Tunisian coast guard recovered eight bodies of migrants from a sunken boat.
- The boat sank while attempting to reach Italy.
- Six migrants remain missing, and one survivor has been rescued.
Tunisian coast guard forces recovered the bodies of eight Tunisian migrants whose boat sank en route to Italy. The search continues for six others still missing, with only one survivor rescued so far.
This incident highlights the ongoing dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and the perilous conditions of the central Mediterranean route.
Tunisian coast guard forces have recovered the bodies of eight Tunisian migrants whose boat sank over the weekend while attempting to reach Italy. The search is ongoing for six other individuals still missing.
The vessel, carrying 15 young people, mostly from the Ben Guerdane area, set off early Thursday. So far, only one person has been rescued, who reported being adrift at sea for 48 hours before being found by a commercial vessel.
Among the passengers were seven members of the same family and a man with his pregnant wife. In Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border, dozens of young people gathered to demand an acceleration of the search operations, but police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
The central Mediterranean route is known as one of the world's deadliest for migrants from Africa and the Middle East seeking to reach Europe, often in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.