Dozens dead after migrant boat sinks off Tunisian coast

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The UN says at least 65 migrants died after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia as they travelled from Libya to Europe.

Key points: The boat was travelling from Libya, where warfare has gripped the capital Tripoli in the past five weeks

The Tunisian navy brought 16 survivors to the coast, and said fishing boats had rescued them

In the first four months of 2019, 164 people were known to have died on the route

The state-run Tunis Afrique Presse agency gave a death toll of at least 70 people. It was one the deadliest shipwrecks involving migrants trying to reach Europe this year.

In the first four months of 2019, 164 people were known to have died on the route, a smaller number but higher death rate than in previous years, with one dying for every three who reach European shores, UNHCR said.

"This is a tragic and terrible reminder of the risks still faced by those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Mediterranean.

UNHCR said the sunken boat had taken to the sea on Thursday from neighbouring Libya, where renewed warfare between rival factions has gripped the capital Tripoli in the past five weeks.

The Tunisian navy brought 16 survivors to the coast at Zarzis, where one was immediately taken to hospital and the others awaited permission to disembark, UNHCR said.

The Tunisian agency said the boat had sunk 40 miles off the coast of Sfax, south of the capital Tunis, and that fishing boats had rescued the survivors.

Governments called on to step in

Tunisia's defence ministry said the boat had left from the Libyan port of Zouara aiming to reach Italy. Navy units have recovered only three bodies so far, it said in a statement.

Libya's west coast is a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe by paying human traffickers, though numbers have dropped due to an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coast guard.

Earlier on Friday, UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said the United Nations had repeatedly voiced its concerns about the lack of boats to pick up migrants and refugees fleeing from "the horrendous and horrible situation" in Libya. It called on governments to step in.

Although the fighting in Libya has made the situation more difficult for people-trafficking rackets, international aid officials have warned that it could also prompt more Libyans to flee their country.

It was not immediately known from which countries the migrants involved in Friday's tragedy were from.

According to UN agency the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2,297 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year out of a total of 116,959 people who reached Europe by sea.

Some 117 migrants who left Libya in a rubber dinghy in January went missing and most remain unaccounted for, according to the IOM.

Reuters/ABC

Topics: refugees, immigration, community-and-society, libyan-arab-jamahiriya, tunisia </s> Up to 70 migrants drown after their boat sinks off Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — As many as 70 migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya drowned Friday when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, and at least 16 others on the boat were rescued, according to U.N. migration officials and Tunisia's state news agency.

The International Organization for Migration called it the deadliest migrant boat sinking since January, and it comes as overall migrant arrivals to Europe are decreasing.

The smuggling boat was coming from Libya when it sent a distress signal in international waters early Friday off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, according to an IOM official in Tunisia. She said between 60 and 70 people drowned.

Tunisia's state news agency TAP said 70 people drowned as the boat sank and that fishing boats rescued 16 others.

The survivors of the sinking are now being questioned and cared for by Tunisian authorities, the IOM official said. She said they included people from Bangladesh and Morocco, among other nationalities.

Joel Millman, an IOM spokesman in Geneva, said the reported death toll is the largest number of migrants killed since a Jan. 19 sinking in which 117 people were reported missing and presumed dead.

So far this year, 17,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea, about 30 percent fewer than the 24,000 arriving during the same period last year, according to the IOM. It said 443 people have reportedly died on dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings so far this year, compared to 620 deaths for the same period in 2018.

Libya's navy said Friday it rescued 213 Europe-bound African and Arab migrants off the Mediterranean coast this week. It said they were handed over to Libyan police after having received humanitarian and medical aid.

Lawless Libya in North Africa became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after an uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.

But human rights groups have strongly criticized Libya for its detention centers, saying migrants being sent back to Libya faced hunger, beatings, torture, rapes and a lack of medical care.

In addition, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive against the government in the Libyan capital of Tripoli last month. The U.N. health agency says 443 people have died, 2,110 have been wounded and nearly 60,000 have been displaced by the violence.

Angela Charlton in Paris and David Rising in Berlin contributed. </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> 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

A boat carrying 86 migrants has sank in the Mediterranean - and 82 people have been reported missing.

Fishermen came across the sinking boat, nine miles from the town of Zarzis off the coast of Tunisia, late on Wednesday.

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

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

Those on board are thought to have been migrants who had departed from the Libyan city of Zuwara.

In May, at least 65 migrants drowned after their boat capsized while heading from Libya to Europe.

African migrants often depart from the west coast of Libya and head to Europe in search of a better life.

But many rely on human traffickers, and end up travelling in unsafe boats.

Aid workers have warned that the recent fighting in Libya could prompt more Libyans to flee their country.

However, an operation run by the Italians and the Libyan coast guard has seen a recent drop in the number of people sailing for Europe. </s> July 4 (UPI) -- More than 80 people are missing after a boat carrying migrants sunk off the coast of Tunisia late Wednesday.

Three Malians were rescued and a fourth migrant died later in a hospital. The inflatable boat, which capsized near the town of Zarzis, set out from Zuwara, Libya, where migrants often embark on dangerous journeys in hope of reaching Europe. More than 80 people are feared dead.

Fishermen who came across the sinking boat were unable to find more than four people.

The sinking came after an airstrike on a migrant center in Tripoli, Libya, killed at least 40 people. The Government of National Accord blamed the Libyan National Army for the attack as conflict with the United Nations-backed Libyan transition government continues. The country has seen persistent internal conflict, leading to the death of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A group of 131 refugees were evacuated out of Libya to Niger in June, the UN Refugee Agency said. In May, 65 migrants died when a boat sank off the coast of Tunisia.

A record number of people worldwide, 41.3 million, were displaced from their home countries because of conflict and violence as of the end of 2018, according to a report from the Norwegian Refugee Council.

In the first six months of this year, 555 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, following 924 deaths in 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration. </s> A boat carrying up to 70 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa has sunk in the Mediterranean, leaving three people dead and dozens missing, Tunisian officials said Friday, revealing once again that crossing the central Mediterranean has become more treacherous than ever for migrants trying to reach Europe.

The bodies of three people who drowned in the accident were found Friday, a spokesman for the Tunisian defense ministry said, adding the boat left Zuwara on the northwestern Libyan coast on Thursday.

A fishing boat picked up 16 survivors, who were transferred on board one of three military vessels involved in the search and rescue operation.

A helicopter was also mobilized, the defense ministry said, adding between 60 to 70 people were believed to be on board.

Interior ministry spokesman Sofiene Zaag said however around 75 people are believed to have been on board the Italy-bound boat when it departed Libya.

An official with the International Organization for Migration in Tunisia said the smuggling boat was coming from Libya when it sent a distress signal in international waters early Friday off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax. The official said between 60 and 70 people drowned.

The boat sank 40 nautical miles off the coast of Sfax, south of the capital Tunis. The Tunisian coast has turned into a launch pad for thousands of migrants, including Tunisians, who seek to reach Europe.

The IOM official says the migrants are now being questioned and cared for by Tunisian authorities. She said the migrants included people from Bangladesh and Morocco, among other nationalities.

Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has vowed to close the country's ports to migrants, although earlier Friday dozens who had been rescued at sea disembarked in Sicily.

The Mediterranean is the "world's deadliest sea crossing" according to the United Nations refugee agency, with one person in 14 dying on the route from Libya to Europe last year.

In the face of Gen. Khalifa Haftar's weeks-long violent offensive in Libya, fear has grown that the violent clashes would prompt a new wave of migration.

The turmoil engulfing the North African country has become a death trap for thousands of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan African countries, seeking to escape poverty and find a better life in Europe.

The U.N. considers Libya an unsafe country for migrants, given the considerable risk of being subjected to serious human rights abuses. Thousands of migrants who have been caught trying to cross the Mediterranean from Libya have been returned to the North African country and put in detention centers. </s> (CNN) — At least 48 people died after a boat carrying around 180 migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia late Saturday, according to official Tunisian news agency TAP.

Dozens of others were rescued by the Tunisian coast guard, which also recovered the 48 bodies, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement.

The boat was 16 nautical miles off the Sfax coast — 170 miles south of the capital Tunis — when it sent a distress signal at 10:45 p.m. local time (5.45 p.m. ET) on Saturday, the interior ministry said.

People trying to reach Europe frequently use Tunisia — which neighbors Libya — as a starting point, often making the journey in overcrowded, makeshift boats heading for Sicily, around 250 miles away.

At least 60 of those rescued were Tunisian, the ministry said, while TAP reported that at least 80 of those on board are believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa.

Search-and-rescue operations are continuing and the death toll is expected to rise. The Sfax public prosecutor has ordered an investigation into the incident, according to TAP.

Another nine migrants, including six children, died after their boat sank off the southern coast of Turkey early Sunday morning, the Turkish coast guard said in a statement. Six others were rescued and at least one person is still missing.

At the western end of the Mediterranean, a further 240 people were rescued over the weekend by Spain’s maritime rescue agency. “One person died before he could be rescued,” the agency wrote on Twitter.

The number of people trying to reach Europe by boat from Turkey and northern Africa has fallen significantly in the past two years.

The drop is ascribed partly to two controversial deals: one struck in March 2016 between the European Union and Turkey — under which Syrian refugees arriving in Greece from Turkey are sent back — and another made last year between Italy and Libya, in which the southern European country pledged to bolster Libya’s coast guard so it could spot departing migrant boats and house migrants attempting to cross.

Doctors Without Borders has been critical of both the EU-Turkey and Italy-Libya deals, slamming them as “outsourcing migration management to — often unsafe — third countries.”

Although the number of people attempting the crossing has fallen — by more than 50% since last year alone — the Mediterranean is still the world’s deadliest migration route, according to data collected by the UN Migration Agency.

Between January and May this year, around 660 people died en route, compared to 87 at the US-Mexico border and 82 in sub-Saharan Africa </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 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.
The United Nations states that at least 65 people are dead after a boat sinks off the coast of Tunisia while carrying migrants from Libya to Europe.