Authorities in Tunisia have arrested 12 individuals, including a smuggler linked to a recent tragic crossing that resulted in the deaths of 15 migrants after their boat capsized, the coastguard reported on Wednesday.
On Monday, a boat carrying approximately 60 migrants capsized off the southeastern island of Djerba. Initially, the coastguard reported 12 fatalities, all Tunisians, including children and a woman, but later updated the toll to 15.
Authorities rescued 31 individuals and are still searching for others. In their statement, the coastguard noted that the main smuggler and his wife were among those arrested, adding that they seized three cars, a boat, and “large sums of money.”
President Kais Saied, who is campaigning for a new term in the upcoming elections on Sunday, has instructed the interior ministry to investigate the incident, which he described as “painful and strange.”
The island of Djerba, known for its heavy police presence and tourist crowds, is not commonly used as a departure point for migrants aiming to reach Europe. Other regions in Tunisia and neighbouring Libya have become major take-off points for those risking the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
On the same day, the coastguard reported rescuing 22 Tunisians, mostly women and children, off the coast of Kerkennah in the east. The following day, local media reported the rescue of 36 other would-be migrants, both Tunisians and Egyptians, off Bizerte in the north.
Each year, tens of thousands attempt the perilous journey from Tunisia, with Italy—just 150 kilometres (90 miles) away to Lampedusa—often their first destination.
The International Organisation for Migration(IOM) has stated that over 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean over the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year. Since January 1, the Tunisian rights group FTDES has documented at least 400 migrant deaths and disappearances due to shipwrecks off Tunisia, with more than 1,300 people reported dead or missing from the North African country last year.