Over 20 migrants die in boat sinking off Tunisia

A coastguard official announced that the bodies of 20 migrants were recovered on Friday after their boat sank off the Tunisian coast.

A spokesman for the local coastguard, Ali al-Ayari, told dpa that the migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa drowned on Thursday off the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax.

Al-Ayari said the bodies were of 10 men, nine women and a baby, adding that three other persons were rescued.

The Tunisian coast has become a common launch point for thousands of migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

In March, at least 39 migrants died when two boats sank off Sfax.

In June 2020, a migrant boat sank off Sfax, leaving at least 60 people dead.