International Desk: At least nine people have died after a boat carrying migrants illegally crossed the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of North African country Tunisia. 6 more people are missing in this incident
International news agency Al Jazeera reported this information in a report on Thursday (December 12) night. There were more than 40 migrants in the boat that sank at that time and 27 of them have been rescued so far.
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According to the report, in the case of the latest boat sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off the African country of Tunisia, the coast guards have recovered the bodies of 9 people, said 1 judicial official of the country. 6 people are still missing in this disaster.
Meanwhile, the country’s coast guard rescued at least 27 people after a boat carrying migrants capsized due to bad weather on Thursday. At least 42 migrants were on the boat when it sank, according to survivors.
Judge Farid Ben Jha said the search is on for at least six people who went missing after the boat capsized off the coast of Chebba, Tunisia. All passengers in the incident were citizens of sub-Saharan African countries.
The number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Africa-Europe has increased. Many people, originally from Africa and the Middle East, tried to cross the Mediterranean to escape a life of poverty for a better life in Europe, and the coastline of Sfax became the main exit point for them.
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On the other hand, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations migration agency, more than 2,270 migrants died in 2023 while trying to cross the central Mediterranean Sea. Which is 60 percent more than the previous year.
In addition, the European Union (EU) signed an agreement with Tunisia last year to combat irregular migration.
According to the UN Migration Agency’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 25,000 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean since 2014.
And according to the statistics of UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 123,000 migrants arrived in Italy in 2021 by illegally crossing the Mediterranean Sea. In 2020, this number was more than 95 thousand.
Sun News/MH
