Tunisia Recovers 2 Bodies, Searches for 12 Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 24
Tunisia Recovers 2 Bodies, Searches for 12 Missing After Migrant Boat Capsizes
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 24
Summary
Two bodies were recovered off southern Tunisia and about 12 migrants remained missing after a boat carrying roughly 15 people capsized en route to Italy.
One survivor was found Saturday by a commercial ship wearing a life jacket after the boat left early Thursday from the Zarzis-Ben Guerdane area, prompting a helicopter and coast guard search.
Djerba hospital received the recovered bodies, while authorities said Zarzis remains a key departure point for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe.
The sinking revives memories of a 2022 disappearance of 18 people off Zarzis that triggered protests over search failures and unidentified burials.
Tunisia's departures have fallen since a 2023 EU-Tunisia migration deal that brought 105 million euros in support, but rights groups say the policy has coincided with serious abuses against migrants.