5 dead, 7 missing as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia coast

Irregular migrants are seen on the boat as an operation is carried out by the Tunisian National Guard against the migrants who want to reach Europe illegally via the Mediterranean Sea, off the city of Sfax in Tunisia on August 12, 2023 [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

Five people died and seven others went missing when a boat carrying irregular migrants sank off Tunisia’s coast, an official said Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Fevzi Al-Masmudi, a local court spokesman, told Anadolu that the migrant boat sank off the coast of the south-eastern port city of Sfax.

“There were 35 people on board, mostly Tunisians. 23 of them were rescued, five bodies were found,” said Masmudi.

A search and rescue operation is underway to find seven people missing, he added.

Masmudi also said an investigation was launched to determine the cause of the sinking of the boat, which sank a few hundred meters off the shore.

READ: Migrants death in Mediterranean an ‘open wound’ for humanity

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