The Latest: Death toll from boat off Tunisia rises to 46

MADRID (AP) — The Latest on migration into and around Europe (all times local):

Tunisia's defense ministry says the number of migrants who died after their boat sank off the country's coast has increased to at least 46.

The ministry's press officer, Rachid Bouhoula, said Sunday afternoon that the bodies of 11 more people were recovered from the water as the rescue and recovery operation near the island of Kerkennah continued.

In a previous statement, the ministry said 35 people were killed and the coast guard rescued another 68. Most of them were Tunisians. Authorities said the boat was carrying about 180 passengers.

In recent months, Tunisia increasingly has become a point of departure for Europe-bound migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

Tunisia's defense ministry says at least 35 migrants were killed after their boat sank off the country's coast.

The ministry said in a statement Sunday that the coast guard rescued 68 others, including Tunisians and seven foreigners, during a mission launched overnight and continuing.

The ministry says the boat was transporting about 180 migrants from Tunisia and other African countries.

It sank near Kerkennah island, on the east coast of Tunisia.

In recent months, Tunisia increasingly has become a point of departure for Europe-bound migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

Nine migrants, including six children, have drowned in boat accident off Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

The boat capsized early Sunday morning near the town of Demre in the southern province of Antalya, according to the Turkish Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard recovered the bodies of nine victims and rescued four others. A fifth migrant was saved by a passing fishing vessel.

Turkey's state-run Anatolia News Agency reports there were 14-15 people on the vessel, according to the migrants, so authorities were still searching for one unaccounted for person. The migrants' nationalities have not been identified.

At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, more than 857,000 migrants reached Greece from Turkey. A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union has dramatically reduced the numbers of migrants coming into Greece.

Spain's maritime rescue service says it has rescued 240 people but one person apparently drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa.

The service says Sunday that its agents spotted a body floating underwater after their rescue ship had saved 41 migrants from a sinking smugglers' boat.

In all, the service says it rescued the 240 people from 11 small boats attempting the perilous crossing from African shores to Spain between Saturday and Sunday.

The U.N. says at least 660 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Through the first four months of 2018, a total of 22,439 migrants reached European shores, with 4,409 of them arriving in Spain. </s> At least 48 migrants were killed when their boat sank off Tunisia's coast and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard - one of the worst migrant boat accidents in recent years.

The boat went down near the southern island of Kerkenna, a tourist spot, in the night to Sunday, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The victims were Tunisians and other nationalities, it said, without giving details.

The rescue operation was suspended late on Sunday but will resume on Monday morning, officials said.

Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as Libya's coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened controls.

Security officials said the boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries.

A survivor said the captain had abandoned the boat after it started sinking to escape arrest by the coast guard.

"I survived by clinging to wood for nine hours," he said at a hospital in the southern city of Sfax where dozens of people gathered to look for survivors and identify dead relatives.

Unemployed Tunisians and other Africans often try to depart in makeshift boats from Tunisia to Sicily in Italy.

Separately, nine people including six children died on Sunday after a speedboat carrying 15 refugees sank off the coast of Turkey's southern province of Antalya, the Turkish coast guard said in a statement.

Reducing the flow of migrants into Italy is one of the aims of the anti- immigrant League party in Italy and its leader Matteo Salvini who was sworn in as the country's new interior minister on Friday.

Salvini and his party have promised to block the arrival of boat migrants from Africa and to deport up to 100,000 illegal immigrants per year.

"The objective is to save lives. And this is done by preventing the departures of the boats of death that are a business for some and a disgrace for the rest of the world," Salvini said in a statement, commenting on both the incidents.

"I will work to ensure that all the international organisations commit to stop departures, landings and deaths."

As of May 30, 32,080 people had reached Europe by sea so far this year, the International Organisation for Migration said on its website. About 660 had died attempting the crossing, it said. </s> At least 50 migrants have drowned after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, according to the UN migration agency.

The bodies of three victims have been found, while dozens of others are missing, said Tunisian authorities.

A fishing boat saved 16 migrants from the boat, which had left Libya on Thursday, reported a spokesman for Tunisia's defence ministry.

There were between 60 and 70 sub-Saharan Africans onboard the vessel when it left the coastal city of Zuwara. </s> TUNIS (Reuters) - A boat carrying more than 70 migrants capsized off the coast of Tunisia on Wednesday, the Tunisian Red Crescent said.

Some of the four initial survivors told the Tunisian coast guard on Thursday that the boat had sunk off the town of Zarzis, Red Crescent official Mongi Slim told Reuters.

One of the four died later in hospital, Slim said, adding that no more information was available.

At least 65 migrants drowned last May when their boat capsized off the Tunisian coast after they had left Libya hoping to reach Europe. </s> No fewer than 70 migrants have drowned after their boat sank off the Tunisian coast, Tunisia’s state news agency TAP reported on Friday.

“Coastguard units are trying to recover the bodies of the dead off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax,’’ the agency added, citing local officials.

According to the report, 16 other people have been rescued by fishermen near the site of the accident.

“The migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa,” the agency reported without further details.

It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the capsized boat, which is believed to have set sail for Europe from neighbouring Libya.

The Tunisian coast has turned into a launch pad for thousands of migrants, including Tunisians, who seek to reach Europe. </s> At least 46 migrants drown off Tunisia; 9 killed off Turkey

MADRID (AP) — A boat carrying migrants toward Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia and at least 46 people drowned, though dozens more could be missing, the North African nation's defense ministry said Sunday.

The ministry said 68 people were rescued overnight after the boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea near Kerkennah island, off Tunisia's eastern coast. Authorities said the vessel was believed to have been carrying about 180 passengers.

Rachid Bouhoula, the defense ministry press officer, said a rescue and recovery operation continued in the waters around the island.

The ministry said earlier that those rescued included 61 Tunisians and seven people from other countries. In recent months, Tunisia increasingly has become a point of departure for Europe-bound migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

Earlier Sunday, Turkish officials reported that nine migrants, including six children, drowned when a boat capsized in the eastern Mediterranean near the town of Demre in the southern province of Antalya. Turkey's coast guard rescued four others and a fifth migrant was saved by a passing fishing vessel. The migrants' nationalities have not been identified.

At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, more than 857,000 people reached Greece from Turkey. A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union has dramatically reduced the numbers of migrants coming into Greece.

Spain's maritime rescue service announced Sunday that it had rescued a total of 240 people trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend, and one person had apparently drowned. It said the migrants were in 11 small boats attempting the perilous crossing from Africa to Spain.

The U.N. says at least 660 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Through the first four months of 2018, a total of 22,439 migrants reached European shores, with 4,409 of them arriving in Spain. </s> At least 80 refugees are feared dead after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia on Wednesday, BBC reported. Four people were rescued from the vessel, but one later died in hospital.

The three Malians who were rescued told officials they had set out from Zuwara town in Libya. Libya has been in the midst of a civil war since 2011, when its dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed.

Tunisian Red Crescent official Mongi Slim told Reuters said the initial four survivors told the Coast Guard that the boat sank off the coast of Zarzis, a coastal commune in the country. Lorena Lando, head of the International Organization for Migration in Tunisia, said that fishermen rescued four people from the boat on Wednesday night.

The passengers in the vessel were all heading for Europe, Al Jazeera reported. Libya has detained thousands of refugees and migrants in detention camps.

The news comes days after an airstrike killed at least 40 migrants and injured 80 in a detention camp in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. </s> More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

More than 80 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisian coast

The boat capsized off the Tunisian coast. File pic

Eighty-two people are missing after the boat they were in sank off the coast of Tunisia.

Tunisian fishermen came across the sinking boat near the town of Zarzis late on Wednesday.

They were able to pull out four men but there was no trace of any of the other passengers, according to Lorena Lando, head of the International Organization for Migration in Tunisia.

Those on board are thought to have been migrants.

One of those rescued, a man from the Ivory Coast, died overnight in hospital.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe. </s> A boat carrying migrants toward Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia and at least 46 people drowned, though dozens more could be missing, the North African nation's defense ministry said Sunday.

The ministry said 68 people were rescued overnight after the boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea near Kerkennah island, off Tunisia's eastern coast. Authorities said the vessel was believed to have been carrying about 180 passengers.

Rachid Bouhoula, the defense ministry press officer, said a rescue and recovery operation continued in the waters around the island.

The ministry said earlier that those rescued included 61 Tunisians and seven people from other countries. In recent months, Tunisia increasingly has become a point of departure for Europe-bound migrants fleeing poverty and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

9 other migrants drown off of Turkey's coast

Earlier Sunday, Turkish officials reported that nine migrants, including six children, drowned when a boat capsized in the eastern Mediterranean near the town of Demre in the southern province of Antalya. Turkey's coast guard rescued four others and a fifth migrant was saved by a passing fishing vessel. The migrants' nationalities have not been identified.

At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, more than 857,000 people reached Greece from Turkey. A 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union has dramatically reduced the numbers of migrants coming into Greece.

Spain's maritime rescue service announced Sunday that it had rescued a total of 240 people trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend, and one person had apparently drowned. It said the migrants were in 11 small boats attempting the perilous crossing from Africa to Spain.

The U.N. says at least 660 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Through the first four months of 2018, a total of 22,439 migrants reached European shores, with 4,409 of them arriving in Spain.
A migrant boat capsizes near the Kerkennah Islands off the coast of Tunisia, killing at least 35 people, while 67 others are rescued by the Tunisian coast guard.