A migrant boat trying to cross from Libya to Italy sank off the coast of Tunisia. In the statement made by the Tunisian Red Crescent, it was stated that 43 migrants were lost as a result of the sinking of the boat trying to cross the Mediterranean, and 84 people were rescued in the operation. The humanitarian aid organization, Red Crescent, stated that 127 migrants on the boat set off from Zuwara on the northwest coast of Libya; 46 of which were from Sudan, 16 from Eritrea, 12 from Bangladesh, and 5 from Egypt.
In recent months, there has been an increase in drowning cases due to the increasing number of migrants trying to cross from Tunisia and Libya to Italy with the warming of the weather. Last month, the Tunisian coast guard rescued 267 migrants from a boat bound for Europe.
The operation comes the day after the announcement by the Tunisian authorities that 8 bodies had been recovered and 46 illegal migrants had been rescued off the coast of Sfax.
Attempts at irregular migration to the coasts of Europe are thwarted daily, and hundreds of people are arrested by Tunisian security forces and the army.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 550 migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean this year. Likewise, Carlotta Sami, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had announced on May 4 that at least 500 migrants died at sea while trying to cross to Europe on the Central Mediterranean migration route from the beginning of 2021 until May.
Data from the Italian Ministry of Interior shows that approximately 19,800 migrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year.
