At least 39 migrants drowned in shipwreck in Tunisia

At least 39 migrants were killed in a shipwreck in Tunisia. The victims included four children, and about 165 people on board could be rescued.

Off the coast of Sfax, in eastern Tunisia, two boats with mostly migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa were wrecked last night. They were trying to reach Europe illegally, a spokesman for the maritime guard said.

The boats were on their way to the Italian coast. There is still a search for possible other survivors.

Every year thousands of migrants from Tunisia and Libya make the dangerous crossing to Europe. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,200 people lost their lives in 2019.

Between January 1 and February 21 of this year, 3,800 migrants arrived illegally in Italy by sea, according to the High Commissioner for Refugees.

Nearly a thousand of them had left from Tunisia, while another 2,500 came from neighbouring Libya.