TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) – About 20 African migrants were found dead on Thursday after their smuggled boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe, Tunisian authorities said. Five survivors have been rescued, and the Tunisian navy is searching for up to 20 people who are still believed to be missing.
Tunisian coastguard boats and local fishermen found and recovered the bodies in the waters of the coastal town of Sfax in central Tunisia, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ben Zekri told the Associated Press.
According to survivors, the migrant smuggling boat was carrying about 40 or 50 people on their way to Italy, Ben Zekri said.
The boat was overloaded and in poor condition and faced strong winds on Thursday morning that could have contributed to the sinking, said National Guard spokesman Ali Ayari. He was transporting migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, he told the PA.
Tunisian naval units were looking for more survivors.
Tunisian authorities say they have recently intercepted several smugglers with migrants, but that the number of attempts has increased, especially between the Sfax region and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
More than 1,100 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean this year, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration.
Migrant smuggling boats frequently leave the coast of Tunisia and neighboring Libya carrying people from all over Africa, including a growing number of Tunisians fleeing prolonged economic difficulties in their country.
Tunisians made up the vast majority of migrants who arrived in Italy this year, despite Rome’s efforts to negotiate with Tunis to end the transitions. Of the 34,001 migrants who arrived in Italy so far this year, 12,847 were Tunisians, or 38%. Bangladeshis were the next largest group, followed by Ivory Coast, Algeria, Pakistan and Egypt.
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Nicole Winfield of Rome contributed.