Tunisia: 37 migrants missing after vessel capsized
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) claimed on May 3rd that 37 people are missing after a migrant vessel capsized between Tunisia and Italy’s Lampedusa island, according to Reuters. A recent surge in sub-Saharan migrants leaving Tunisia for Europe comes amid a crackdown on illegal migrants from authorities and rising local resentment.
Survivors told IOM that their vessel capsized in strong winds after setting sail from Sfax, Tunisia with 46 people aboard.
The UN agency said the survivors arrived on Lampedusa late on May 2nd, having been rescued by another vessel.
The four survivors, all from sub-Saharan Africa, recounted that five of their fellow travellers were picked up by another ship, while 37 are feared dead, including seven women and a child, an IOM spokesperson told Reuters.
The UN’s High Commission for Refugees gave a similar account of the incident but claimed 40 people were believed to be missing, rather than the 37 sited by survivors.
In a separate incident, at least 12 African migrants are missing and three confirmed dead after three boats sank off Tunisia, according to a judicial official on May 2nd.
READ: Tunisia: Authorities recover 19 bodies at sea
2024 has seen a surge in Mediterranean migration, with over 7,000 having entered Italy from Tunisia amid a crackdown on sub-Saharan migrants living in the country illegally and reports of racist attacks by Tunisians.
As reported by AFP, the Tunisian town of Al Amra saw hundreds of locals demonstrating on May 4th, demanding the eviction of hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants living in makeshift camps
Reuters / AFP
