The past year has been marked by an upsurge in boats in the central Mediterranean, the deadliest migratory route in the world for would-be migrants to Europe.
(Tunis) Twenty-two African migrants are missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean off the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Tunisian navy said on Saturday, reporting the death of a migrant.
Posted on February 13, 2021 at 1:54 p.m.
In a statement, the navy said it had rescued 25 migrants during its participation in a rescue operation about 100 km northwest of Lampedusa. The 25 rescued migrants of different African nationalities, including six women, were brought back to Tunisia.
Cited by the press release, migrants said their boat had taken to sea overnight from Friday to Saturday in the port region of Sidi Mansour, in the province of Sfax (central-eastern Tunisia). 48 people were on board.
Rescue operations were interrupted due to bad weather. 22 migrants are missing and the navy has recovered a body, according to the text.
Despite the health crisis linked to the new coronavirus pandemic, the movement of clandestine migration from the Maghreb countries, in particular Tunisia and Libya, to Europe has continued, in particular to the Italian coasts where migrants hope to find work and outlook.
The past year has been marked by an upsurge in boats in the central Mediterranean, the deadliest migratory route in the world for would-be migrants to Europe.
