Death toll from migrant shipwreck off Tunisia rises to 20

At least 20 bodies have been found off the coast of Tunisia following a shipwreck on Friday. Most of the people were Syrians trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

19 March, 2022

In recent months, several people have drowned off the Tunisian coast [source: Getty]

The death toll from a migrant shipwreck off Tunisia on Friday has risen to 20 people, most of them Syrians, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a civil protection official told Reuters on Saturday, the latest migrant ship disaster off Tunisia.

He said the coastguard recovered eight bodies on Saturday, after finding 12 on Friday. A search was still underway.

In recent months, several people have drowned off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.