Six migrant bodies found off Tunisia

Al Jazeera Media Network

six more bodies have been recovered off the Tunisian coast, the interior ministry said on Monday, raising the death toll to 12 after a boat carrying migrants capsized last week.

A total of 37 Tunisians had boarded the boat from near the coastal city of Sfax in a clandestine bid to reach the Italian coast, according to a security source.

The makeshift vessel capsized on Tuesday night last week off Mahdia, a coastal town in eastern Tunisia.

The latest recovery, on Sunday, comes after six more bodies were retrieved on Thursday – although authorities had initially reported the number at eight.

Fourteen people were rescued, leaving 11 still missing.

Tunisia is a key departure point for migrants seeking to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa, just 130km (80 miles) away, often in vessels that are barely seaworthy.

The summer months also tend to see higher numbers of people making such journeys, and according to official figures, Tunisian authorities have intercepted some 500 people in recent days.

While many of those attempting the journey are from elsewhere in Africa or further afield, a grinding economic crisis has pushed growing numbers of Tunisians to attempt the crossing.

The European Union’s Frontex border agency says more than 42,500 migrants and refugees used the Central Mediterranean route between January and July, up 44 percent compared with the first seven months of 2021.