At least 20 migrants die in shipwreck off Tunisia

The Tunisian coast guard was able to rescue five people, while the search continues off the city of Sfax.

At least 20 migrants died in a shipwreck off the coast of the city of Sfax in Tunisia, the National Guard, on which the coast guards depend, announced Wednesday, December 18. Maritime units have “recovered 20 bodies” and continue the research, after having “were able to rescue five migrants from sub-Saharan Africa” in a boat that sank off the coast of El Louza, a small seaside town north of Sfax, according to an official press release.

According to the National Guard, the boat left late Tuesday evening from the La Chebba area, located approximately 40 kilometers north of El Louza. The boat on which the illegal migrants were found sank approximately 25 kilometers from the coast.

The Sfax region is among the main areas from which Tunisian and foreign migrants leave to try to reach the Italian coast illegally. Along with Libya, Tunisia, whose coastline is in some places less than 150 km from the Italian island of Lampedusa, is the main departure point in North Africa for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean. Since the start of the year, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) has recorded between 600 and 700 deaths or disappearances of migrants in shipwrecks off the Tunisian coast, after more than 1,300 deaths or disappearances in 2023.