Two bodies were recovered, one person remains missing, and 28 others were rescued after a migrant boat capsized off the eastern coast of Tunisia, local media reported on Friday. Most of the passengers were identified as Tunisians.
The boat departed from Teboulba, a coastal town 180 kilometres south of Tunis, aiming for Europe. Tunisia and neighbouring Libya have become significant departure points for migrants seeking better lives, often risking perilous journeys across the Mediterranean.
This incident adds to the growing list of migrant disasters off Tunisia. In October, authorities recovered the bodies of 15 migrants near Monastir, and in September, 36 migrants were rescued off Bizerte.
Since the start of the year, 103 boats have capsized, leading to 341 confirmed deaths along Tunisia’s coast, according to the interior ministry. The Tunisian rights group FTDES reported that over 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks.
The Mediterranean remains a deadly route for migrants. Italy’s Lampedusa island, only 150 kilometres from Tunisia, is a common destination for those attempting the crossing. However, the International Organization for Migration estimates that over 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, with more than 3,000 fatalities recorded in 2023 alone.
