In three days, nearly 25 corpses were washed up by the sea off the coast of northeastern Tunisia. According to information from the IOM, the would-be migrants of Syrian and Tunisian nationality.
At least 25 bodies of migrants who were trying to reach Europe illegally have been washed up in recent days by the sea off the coast of northeastern Tunisia, according to a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The bodies were found off Cap Bon (about a hundred kilometers from Sicily). “The identification of the bodies is in progress, but according to the information available, they would be migrants of Syrian and Tunisian nationality,” added the IOM on its Facebook page. The canoe was carrying about 60 people.
Credit: Google map
Dramas follow one another from the Tunisian shores. Nine people had already been found dead in their boat on Monday, February 28. Their canoe had capsized near Mahdia, in eastern Tunisia. At the end of January, another shipwreck left six dead and 30 missings.
Tunisia has become one of the main departure points for migrants who dream of a better life in Europe, fleeing unemployment and poverty.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 migrants have already drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2021, nearly 2,000 people were reported missing or drowned, compared to 1,401 in 2020, according to the IOM.
A total of 15,671 migrants, including 584 women, managed to reach Italian soil from the Tunisian coasts in 2021, compared to 12,883 (including 353 women) in 2020, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, which specializes in migration issues.
More than 123,000 migrants landed in Italy in 2021, compared to some 95,000 the previous year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world. The IOM estimates that more than 23,000 migrants have died or gone missing there since 2014.
